


Toxic Kiss

by Sakuraiai



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bad Flirting, Based on Venom, Brain Damage, Cannibalism, F/M, Human Experimentation, Hungry Venom Symbiote (Marvel), Innuendo, Keith (Voltron) is a Mess, Keith is Venom, Lance (Voltron) is a Mess, M/M, Mild Gore, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rough Sex, Sharing a Brain, Shy Keith (Voltron), Symbiotic Relationship, Terminal Illnesses, Threesome, can it be a threesome if one person is actually a man and a symbiote?, kind of, tumours
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-08-06 01:47:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 50
Words: 79,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16379057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakuraiai/pseuds/Sakuraiai
Summary: (Based loosely on Venom)Keith was dying.He knew that much when Dr. Shirogane show him his head scan. But he had a plan for his last few days on Earth.One, he was going to eat at that deluxe restaurant Nurse Allura always told him about.Two, he was going to ask his neighbour out on a date and take him to that restaurant.And three, he was going to kiss Lance with everything he had.What he didn't expect was getting caught in an alien experiment hell bent on eating all the bad guys, a friendship with the voice in his head, and Lance in his bed.Well, there were worse ways to go.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my lovelies!  
> I am back with a new Klance fic.  
> So, I watched Venom last week and fell in love with the comedic symbiotic relationship between Venom and Eddie. And then I saw some amazing art of Keith being Venom on tumblr and I just HAD to do this.
> 
> So here is a fic that literally no one asked for!
> 
> FYI, what started out as being a serious and scary fic turned more into this...  
> ...I am not sorry. I blame 'Toxic' by Britney Spears and Deadpool on TV.
> 
> This fic is very much a Voltron mixed with Venom AU.
> 
> It goes without saying, everyone here is out of character, including Venom.  
> Also, just know I am basing this loosely on Venom (the movie) because I only know the 2018 movie (I am getting into the comics, but I had to write this...) so I'm sorry if I get...everything wrong.
> 
> Let's get this party started then, shall we?

They say that in the beginning, there was nothing.

It was just a big, black empty wasteland of cosmic star dust and the hollow vacuum that took over the entire universe. Void of anything and everything useful without any outside reactions turning that nothingness into something. Call it God, call it the big bang.

Call it whatever the fuck you want, Venom didn’t give a rat’s ass. He didn’t give a rats’ anything right now.

But he did believe that everything happens for a reason, all that kismet and destiny and karma bullshit his akri spouted out of his ass. He always told him all sorts of stupid shit as they stared up at the stars in the asteroid rock they called home. Of course they killed and maimed and ate their brethren, they were in a constant battle of survival after all. There were billions of _them_ and only one little asteroid rock drifting in the great big black wasteland he called his home.

Fuck, if they had anything even close to what these Earth people had with all those fangled whizz popping rockets and charged satellites and all that stuff he had seen when he was first brought down here into this shitty little capsule prison. If his kind even had an iota of that in their rock, they’d have invaded this Earth place and had a feast of every little Earth person here.

Humans.

Delicious. Especially when they were scared as fuck.

He grinned, his sharp maw stretching wide, though it was hard to see when he was still just his symbiotic state, just a morphling waiting to be moulded – well that was what that fucking man had called him. He was _not_ a morphing, whatever the fuck that was – he was a soldier first and foremost.

Ah, this was all fucked up.

What was he talking about?

Ah, yeah. So, stuff happened for a reason. Venom believed that. But all that shit didn’t explain just how and _why_ he was here right now, stuck in this tiny glass prison, unable to move, to stretch, to breathe.

How the fuck had they found him? He was supposed to be back home, at least in that war zone he called his home, and then before he could do anything, like bite the fucking head off the asshole that had ejected him from his home and into this fucking prison – like who the fuck even _does_ that? – and found himself hurtling down onto solid, cold and unbreathable ground.

He had been gasping for air, not venturing out of the crack that appeared on his little glass prison, though it would have been so easy to. In a way, he knew that could have been his escape, but fuck…he was scared alright! You try getting snatched from your home and hurtled through the air into a place where you can’t even breathe. Let’s see if you like it!

Fuck, he was going off topic.

Then again, this new little cylinder of glass he called home was a fuck ton better than his own planet. Minus the not being able to breathe without the help of these machines and shit around him. His home was a bloodbath every god damn day. Every day was pain, every move he made ached, all that fucked upped-ness made him morbidly glad for his current prison.

_This._ This blackened and bloodied nothingness was good, this void where he was able to swirl around and got a chance to relax for once in his god damn life, and recuperate from the war itself. He got ample amount of food, all those sickening humans to chow down on. In here - though it was a complete shit hole, let’s be honest - was tiny, spherical, thick and smelly with glass walls and metal ends. Small, like… _fuck_. _Small_ , and not in the good and tight way.

Then again, in his previous home he had been surrounded by billions of his brother and sister kin, soldiers in their rankings, in the asteroid up there in the big ol’ wasteland in the sky. So this little glass hoven was actually kind of a nice change of pace, in a way.

So yeah, he couldn’t really come up with anything as to why he was _here._ What did these humans want from him? Why did they get some asteroid android wannabee extract him and a few of his brethren from their god damn house?

He needed to get out of here. Now.

There was something, call it gut instinct that told him he was probably going to die here. But he was a god damn stubborn son of a bitch, and he wasn’t going to take this shit lying down.

You might be thinking; Yo Ven, my man, you’re living the good life away from your killer kin, and in a sweet bachelor pad, why are you thinking of moving out?

Well, _dude,_ there are these moments every few minutes where this dick of a human – called whatever douche bag, yeah so names...not his strong point when he was this fucking hungry – who came into his little bachelor pad, all smiling and shit, and zapped him with so many vaults of electricity and pumped him with all kinds of weird looking fluids and making him feel like shit. That it turns his lovely little bachelor pad into the house from Hostel.

Oh yeah, Venom knows Hostel.

Venom knows all the seedy, kinky, fucked up shit that makes this pretty little world go round and round. Such naughty, naughty humans. All thinking this is _God’s_ plan, and then fucking around with little kids or victims, or killing each other for sport.

Venom knows everything.

And Venom is hell bent on eating those kiddy-fuckers, those rapists and those assholes who think killing humans is a good sport – so fuck off with your righteousness and all that shit. He’s a fucking _alien_ and he knows right from wrong. Those who meddle with those who deny are eaten. Those who hurt innocents are eaten. Those who keep people locked up and force them into all sorts of shit, are...you guessed it,  _eaten._

It’s simple. Why should Earth be any different to his own laws back on his asteroid planet? If he believed anything these humans spouted, then he would be ruler here, he was bigger, faster, stronger and better than every single puny human on this wretched god forsaken planet. If he so desired to - and fuck did he, because yum! - He'd feed off these _bad guys_ and save the world.

So yeah, Venom knows everything.

And _why_ does Venom know everything?

Because that same douche bag dropped humans among humans in his home for him to eat, calling it ‘experimenting’ and ‘combining’ - like _what the fuck_. Why don't  _you_ come here and we can see just how well _we_ combine! But that douche always stayed on the other side of the fucking glass. And Venom had no way of actually _getting_ to him.

Not yet.

Because in those moments, when he combined with the humans – all incompatible mind you, Venom knew exactly who was the right one for him, and none of these earth people this douche fucker - whatever his god damn name was - wasn't it – he took the chance to absorb not only every single nutrients in the human victim he could get his tendrils on – because, let’s be real here, there’s no way these guys are volunteers, there’s got to be some liability, some lawsuit shit here that allows that fucked up douche bag to actually dick around with humans and let him eat from them (then again, a free lunch is still free, right?) – But what that douche bag didn’t know was that every time a new human came in to his little private cell, like sushi on a conveyor belt, Venom latched onto them and took his time to learn all the information he could.

Like how the fuck to get out of here.

But then every time he got close to being cocky, close to getting that last vital piece of information – like the fucking door code number, or where the fuck these vents were – that douche dick would jolt his body with some kind of gas that made him shudder and quake and made him feel weak, like a fucking child.

And _then_ the head honcho fucker would zap him with more electricity that lay him down for that night. That mother fucker had his hands on that trigger like he was stroking his dick and needed to get off. So yeah, Venom was going to be happy when he got out of here, because he was going to eat that main fuckers head.

He just had to get out of here first.

Hearing the door leading to his freedom slide open, Venom smirked. He watched intently as a human walked in, wearing that god awful white apron – like yeah, let’s stare at ugly naked asses again, yay. Haven’t these people heard of cru or linges, like for fucks sake, it won’t hurt to show him a good looking person to chow down on – the door slid shut behind the man and the head honcho fucker started spouting off some more shit – like he always did – and yeah, Venom had actually had enough of this shit show now.

_Fuck, Zarkon! That_ was the name of the head mother fucker. Yeah, and he thought _his_ name was bad.

He spied a new short person standing behind Zarkon, staring directly at him at the other side of the glass – like, what the fuck, was that a girl or a boy? – raising their large round glasses over their small nose, their hair in weird brown disarray over their head as they stared into the experiment chamber, watching Venom with awe. They had their hand on a small pad resting on their arm, the pad that controlled the doors.

Venom knew who this person was; he had seen this person through the eyes of the humans he had eaten – what the fuck kind of name was Pidge? – and he knew that this person was going to get him out.

And, oh look…an opportunity.

The little person had a worried look on their face, their fingers gripping at the corners of their pad as they watched Venom slither out of his cylinder home – he was going to put on a show after all – and jump up in the air, creating a beautiful pose with his arched back and tendrils all pointed -anyone would give him ten points for that - and latched onto the poor unfortunate soul souls back, sinking into his skin and organs until he was settled where he needed to be.

Right in the fuckers head.

Look, he hadn’t had anything to eat for three whole days, so yeah, he was kinda messy right now. And if this human was his ticket out of there, then sure, he was going to try his best not to eat the human straight away – though his mouth salivated at the thought.

Off topic. _Don’t eat the human,_ right.

It was weird, combining with a human that wasn’t the right one for him. It was like trying to put of a suit that was too tight, or too loose. Except that suit felt fucking awful, like there were pins and needles prodding and poking and stabbing him, like the lights were too fucking bright, and that his body felt…wrong.

Oh god, this human was fucking disgusting to even touch. But Venom had a job to do. He melded as much as he could with the human, keeping the human's body pumping and running as he slipped on his suit.

He was going to be sick. He was going to hurl.

Fuck, keep it together Ven; this is not the time to be sensitive. You’re a tough strong alien, who don’t need no human.

Zarkon looked happy, his smile wide as he looked at the screen, and then at his human self. Venom tried not to shudder and quake, instead he sucked in information from the human he was in, and let that information absorb with his own.

Oh yeah, this was exactly what he wanted.

That little Pidge was looking at him with awe now, eyes wide and gleaming behind those round glasses. They reached a hand out to the glass, pressing it up. Venom did the same, slamming his larger, human hand right over where Pidge’s hand was.

He smirked, time to start the plan.

“…save me…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for giving this fic a try.  
> I hope you like where it goes~!
> 
> I'm using female pronouns for Pidge, by the way.

Pidge Holt had thought she had seen almost everything the world had to offer her in its glorious scientific marvels.

But this one took the whole cake.

She stood there, at the other end of the large glass partitioning her from the great wonder that was the alien life form, the big, black, bulbous mass that looked close to tar mixed with stars. It had been swirling around in the cylinder shaped transporter unit – the one she had designed – looking like a starry galaxy in the sky within its beauty as it shimmered and shone in the safe environment it was housed in.

It slithered out of its housing, dropping gracefully onto the metal ground. She stood behind Dr. Zarkon, wishing she could lean in closer and get a proper look at the alien. But she was stuck on this side, a few feet away –for her own safety the doctor had said.

She still couldn’t believe it.

Dr. Zarkon had asked for her personally to come see his latest ‘creation’ as he had called it. Pidge had always been rather wary whenever it came to anything regarding Dr. Zarkon. He always had an air of ‘crazy’ around him, so much so that when Pidge had first heard the news from Dr. Zarkon’s secretary, one Mr. Thrace, she had almost said no.

It was always somewhat frightening whenever she had to be alone with the doctor, even in the lifts leading from the labs he came from to the offices on the floors above. He was a man that exuded power with his stance alone, and though he did try to smile, try to be normal, it always looked so sinister to her, and to others.

He only ever had his own protégé around him, a select few who were allowed to see him and work with him. So being on his team was an amazing promotion for her, however she was still wary. But he had asked for her to come to the viewing, as she was one of the “lucky employees from the bioengineering department to be able to see Dr. Zarkon’s latest work,”

She had walked along the frighteningly eerie and frigid corridors leading to the lower labs, the ones only those with the red swipe badges could get into.

Pidge had always wanted to gain access into here, to see all the wonderful scientific discovering that was definitely way above her work grade.

No anymore, she mused, looking down to her badge, seeing the red stripe right above it. She now had unfettered access to the lower labs. She stood in front of the door leading to the lab, saying a hello to the woman who was guarding the door – god only knew just what her name was – and swiped her card in front of the panel. It lit up, showing her name and face on the screen. She was so eager and giddy as the door lock took in her credentials and the door immediately swished open for her.

She composed herself and walked into the laboratory. Goodness, it was like a dream. There were so many computers and machines she wanted to get her hands onto, so many neat and colourfully glowing vials lined the cupboards on the walls, and so much information medical and otherwise streaming on the screens lining the walls and the tables.

Amazing!

But what really got to her was the small square glass isolation chamber in the very centre of the room. It was clear and clean, and empty, except for the small pedestal in the middle, holding a glass transportation vial – her transportation vial – the one she had spent the past few months perfecting and had the algorithms in her head. Though she hadn’t initially known what it was for, she had spent all that time creating the very thing that Dr. Zarkon was using, he had taken the basic schematics the doctor had provided her with and did a job well beyond her prowess.

Maybe that was why Dr. Zarkon allowed her access down here.

Her giddiness revived when she looked back to the vial and saw that it was filled with a black substance, a black _moving_ substance. What the heck was that?

She must have had a confused look on her face because Dr. Zarkon himself, the tall, stocky man that exuded fear and power, stood behind her.

“That, Dr. Holt is a symbiote,” he explained, his voice booming behind her, jolting her from her awe. “An alien lifeform, the very future itself,”

“An alien?”

Dr. Zarkon nodded, looking at the vial from the safety of the glass. He placed a hand on the glass itself, his eyes faraway. Shaking his head from his thoughts, he turned back to Pidge, ushering her over to the screens at the back of the room.

“I’ve called you in to witness once of the combining transformations,” he stated, pointing to the screen where there was the statistics showing of whatever was inside the glass room.

Oh wow! She was going to witness the black mass’s reactions with an animal? Or were they going to see what it was like in different weather conditions? Were they going to inject something into the dark mass alien – symbiote, as Dr. Zarkon called it – and see if it could take it? It was in a specific housing after all.

Was there a way to get it out so they could interact with it themselves?

“History will be made today, Dr. Holt,” Dr. Zarkon continued, handing Pidge the electronic tablet he had been holding. She took it from him and looked down onto the screen, seeing the same images on the smaller screen as there had been on the larger screen; vital life information about the alien symbiote in the glass room, as well as some other algorithms and information. It was very fascinating.

“I want you to push the button,” Dr. Zarkon said, pointing to the image of a button on the screen, below it were the words ‘doors’ and she instinctively knew it was the buttons to the doors inside the glass room.

It was an honour to do something like this, to be a part of something so epic. But she had to ask; “why me?”

“I have seen what you are worth, Dr. Holt.” Dr. Zarkon said, placing a large hand on her small shoulder. “I believe we will benefit from having a mind like yours here, working with the symbiotes,”

Pidge nodded, feeling a shiver of energy pass through her. She was eager and ready to get stuck in. Looking back at the symbiote, she told herself she was going to do everything she could to make sure this worked.

“I don’t need to tell you about safeguarding,” Dr. Zarkon stated, tightening his grip on her shoulder.

Pidge shook her head, it was obvious. Don’t blab about the experiments, don’t bring anyone who doesn’t have jurisdiction or access into the building, or the laboratories, don’t take any items home with you, files and folders were to be kept in the building, and make sure you keep the experiments safe.

“Good,” Dr. Zarkon released her from his hawk like hold and turned to one of the scientists sitting in front of the screen. He asked the man for the file, and the man stood up suddenly, reaching for a dark purple folder with a red ‘confidential’ stamp stuck on the very top of it. He handed the folder off to Dr. Zarkon, who took the thick file and handed it over to Pidge.

“Read through this,” He stated, not letting go of the corners of the file when Pidge took hold of it. “But it does not leave this lab,”

“Yes, sir,” Pidge replied like it was the Holy Grail itself. She quickly skimmed through the information while Dr. Zarkon went back to working with the team of three on the very front screens, facing the glass.

She gasped when she recognised one person sitting in the front screens. It was her neighbour, Hunk Garret. He nodded to her when he noticed her, giving her a halfway there smile before returning to his screen.

That was odd. Hunk was always such a happy man, always smiling and being lovely. He _had_ been a little off for the past few weeks, maybe he was being overworked. That was the only real answer she could give as to why he had looked at her like that. Maybe she should be worried too.

The file looked as normal as she had expected it to be, but there were a few things here and there that brought up neon red flags.

“Human trials?” she mumbled to herself. “You’re already on human trials and interactions with the alien?”

Dr. Zarkon didn’t seem to be listening, however his second in command, Sendak appeared behind Pidge, scaring her a little.

“They truly are amazing specimens,” he said, looking up at the alien in the glass room. “But they need to have one hundred percent compatibility with something in order to survive on earth,”

Pidge nodded, she knew this already, she had been the one to create his home after all. She knew exactly what the alien needed to live.

“What is Dr. Zarkon trying to achieve?” she asked, afraid of the truth, though she already knew what the implications of melding and bonding an alien to a human could only result in bad things.

“Answers,” Dr. Zarkon replied, holding his arms out to the small glass room, looking so gleeful. “We have an entire alien race we found so close to home, what else could there be out there in the wild expanse of space? There is a whole universe out there to explore. We owe it to ourselves, _to the world,_ to get answers for life’s long unanswered questions,”

He leaned in close to Pidge, ducking down to her eye level and taking her hands in his own.

“Don’t you think deserve to know what the universe holds for us?” he asked quietly. “What if the cure for all the world’s worst diseases are hidden inside that alien right there?” – He pointed to the alien to emphasise his point – “don’t you want to see if we can finally cure cancer?”

Pidge had to give him his due; he knew exactly what to say to get everyone on his side. She was a bit weary, but maybe…maybe there were answers out there for all of life’s ailments. Maybe learning more about other life forms could help prolong their own.

So with a heavy heart, Pidge nodded. Her scientific mind really was interested in figuring out the universe. She had already been proven that aliens existed, there was one sitting right there in that room after all. What if there was more to the darkness of space? More to see, more to learn and understand?

She was eager to find out.

Dr. Zarkon called her over to the front, motioning her to hold the tablet before her. She did as she was told, passing by Hunk and giving him a pat on his shoulder as she did so. He looked away from her, and she wondered what was happening. Dr. Zarkon cleared his throat and she quickened her steps, standing a few feet away from him, looking into the glass room.

The show was about to begin.

“This time,” Dr. Zarkon said to the room. “This time we’ve got it right, I can feel it,”

He turned to the guards standing on the side by the door and motioned for them. They nodded and the door behind them opened. Pidge watched, enthralled, a young man in a hospital gown walked into the glass room. He looked scared, mouth moving, but no sound coming out. It wasn’t possible to hear him through the thick glass. So Dr. Zarkon reached up and pressed a button on the table before the glass room and Pidge finally heard the man’s voice.

He sounded so frightened, looking directly at them. “Doctor,” he called, with a quake in his voice.

“Remember what we talked about,” Dr. Zarkon said calmly, holding his hand up to him. “Think of what you are doing this for.”

The scared man nodded, and made his way to the centre of the room. Pidge took a glance back to Hunk, hoping to see his reaction. This had obviously happened many times before, what with the way everyone looked calm, a little eager to see the reaction they wanted. But it was more a feeling of no interest, like they expected nothing to happen.

Hunk wasn’t looking her, he looked scared and sad. And she needed to know why.

Dr. Zarkon turned to Pidge, ushering her forward. “Dr. Holt, if you please,”

Pidge nodded, looking down to her tablet and pressing the button that would open the door to the alien life form, and watched as it hissed open.

And that was when Pidge saw it. The beautiful alien slipping onto the ground behind the man, making him turn around and yell – though Pidge couldn’t hear what he was saying, the glass room was silent to them all, -- the only sounds were of the machines whirring and beeping.

Her head whizzed to the alien, seeing as it leapt in the air in a pretty arc, and landed directly into the man’s chest. She gasped as she watched it stretch and disappear into the man. She saw the abject fear in the man’s eyes, the way his mouth was open, she could almost _hear_ the screams through the thick glass and it made her grimace.

She quickly darted her gaze to Hunk once again and saw how he stood up from his seat, leaning over his screen, his mouth in a wide shuddering ‘o’, as if he was shocked at what he was seeing.

“It didn’t happen?” He whispered to the air. The others seemed to wait on bated breath, as if they had expected something bad to happen.

What _usually_ happened?

The man inside curled in on himself, holding his hands to his head, his mouth still open in a wide ‘o’, lips stretched around a scream. But then, almost immediately, he stopped. Pidge wasn’t able to take her eyes off the man as he stood up straight, turned around and looked directly into her eyes.

But she definitely heard what he said next, and it made her quake.

“ **Save me.** ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah...  
> ...this is going to start getting good now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day?  
> Gasp!  
> Honestly, I really got into writing this chapter so I just had to post it up!
> 
> Team Punk for the win!

Pidge cornered Hunk as soon as the others had left the room.

She hadn’t been able to look back at the sickening sight of the man who had been eaten from the inside out. The walls were covered in blood and brain matter, and she had heaved enough for that year alone. 

How the fuck was this happening? She didn’t dare look at the alien…the _monster_ …in the transportation chambers. But she saw the grin on Dr. Zarkon’s face, and she had definitely heard him speaking to Sendak and telling him that they were getting close.

_Close!_

This was close?

“What the fuck is going on?” Pidge yelled, jabbing a finger into Hunk’s chest, barely reaching his shoulders, but she looked intimidating, and she knew Hunk knew not to mess with her.

“I was sworn to secrecy,” Hunk cried, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “I hate this just as much as you do,”

“So why are you still in there?” Pidge asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why aren’t you going straight to the police?”

“The same reason you are,” Hunk answered, lowering his voice and leaning in close to her. “I _know_ you heard him too, and I _know_ you've read what he can do. If there are aliens like _that_ out there, we need to find out their weaknesses and prepare ourselves,”

Pidge tilted her head to one side, her glasses gleaming in the lights above them. The others were working around them, barely noticing their conversation.

“What do you think is going to happen?” she asked, dragging him a little further away from the monitors. “An alien invasion?”

“That asteroid that holds all these aliens,” Hunk started, taking the folder from her hands and pulling it open. He rifled through the pages until he landed on the one he wanted. “It’s _in_ our solar system,” he slapped his finger to the numbers on the page. “And they are moving _really_ fast,”

Pidge held in her breath. Was this really happening? Were they going to be invaded by aliens that could absorb themselves into them and destroy them from the inside? Human's didn't stand a chance against something like _that!_ Pidge’s stomach turned at that thought, but she shook her head. She already knew she was going to have trouble sleeping. She didn’t want to add this onto the mix.

But one thing stuck. “He said ‘save me’,”

Hunk nodded. “He’s been saying that to me too, every time we get a volunteer in there, he takes them over and tells me things." Hunk took hold of her shoulders, shaking her, "Pidge, he’s a _good guy,”_

Pidge wanted to argue, but Hunk had never steered her wrong before. So she knew he wasn’t making fun of her, or being stupid. Hunk was a smart guy, he knew from right and wrong, and he was damn well perceptive to a fault. So if he had been talking and listening to this alien, and he said that the symbiote was a good guy – which, hell maybe he _was_ – then Pidge believed him.

She looked back at the glass room, seeing the alien being shocked with electricity as it slithered back into its little vial, and she sighed. “I don’t think he wants to be in there,”

“So you’ll help me?” Hunk asked. Pidge looked at him, confused. He leaned in closer to her, pressing his hand to her ear and whispering to her. “I got a plan to get him out, but I need your help.”

Pidge nodded. She would trust Hunk to the ends of the earth, so she trusted him now.

 

 

It took them a whole week to get everything ready for the plan.

The plan was surprisingly well thought out by Hunk, he had been spending a lot of time thinking about this. So much so that he had been the one who had gave Pidge's name to Dr. Zarkon into letting her into the lab's staff list. He had said a few good things about Pidge, spoken about her in a meeting or two, and the name seemed to have stuck in Dr. Zarkon’s mind enough for him to check her credentials, her resume and ask her to come along for the ride.

Pidge had kept the folder Dr. Zarkon had given her close to her chest, always having it in her hand, alongside the tablet, pretending to be adding a few things here and there. And in some cases she had actually added a few new things into it. But it was all a ruse.

In the deep recesses of her office upstairs, she had been tinkering away at technology that would help her and Hunk’s plan come to completion. They only had one thing they needed to do in order to save not only the humans that were coming into the experimental lab and being killed through symbiosis like lambs to the slaughter, but the alien itself.

Pidge could still hear his voice, slick like syrup dripping down her back as he told her time and time again to save him. He wanted to be free, he wanted to go home. He didn’t want to eat people – or at least that’s what he was saying before he would chow down on the humans - it was the only thing he could eat. And Pidge knew, she had seen the experiments they had done to him, seeing what kept him alive. Food was nothing, the symbiote preferred meat, it was the only thing that kept him alive. The fresher the better.

Dr. Zarkon and his frightening right hand man, Sendak gleamed and grinned after every kill the symbiote made. It was as if they had expected this alien to make a meal out of the entire volunteer section. They probably did.

But that voice, that alien, constantly telling her he was not like that. That he wanted to be free. In the week she had worked in the lab, he had worn her down enough for her to figure out a way to get him out. It was why she was here, standing with her files and a thermos in her hands, her laptop under her arm and a bag strapped around her body as she tried to make her way down to the lower labs. The private lab came into view, and she saw the guards leaving for the day.

Alright Pidge. Now is the time to show your acting skills.

Taking in a few deep breaths, she held her things in her hand, keeping them in disarray, and rushed towards the laboratory door before the guards left for the night.

“Oh good! You’re still here!” she gasped out, trying to catch her breath. The guards stopped to look at her, one waving a quick salute to the other as he jogged down the corridor. The second guard just rolled his eyes and turned to Pidge. It was good she was so short and almost frail looking, no one looked at her when she was like this, no one thought her as a threat.

“What can I do for you, miss?” the guard asked, taking a look at her belongings.

Pidge grinned inwardly, _yes!_ This guard didn’t know her name. He must be new. She put on a frown, fidgeting with her things as she tried to – or at least pretended to – reach for her pockets.

“I forgot that I had this file,” she said, holding the file up in her hands, just high enough to show him it, but not enough to drop the laptop she had tucked under her arm. “And I know we’re not allowed to take them out of the lab, but I just have so much in my hands…”

“No problems miss. I can open the door for you,” The guard smiled, reaching for his badge and swiping the door open. “You okay for me to clock out before the next guard takes post?”

Pidge nodded, glad the guard himself had come up with the idea of leaving her alone instead of her herself. It would have looked odd if she had said it. She was trying not to be suspicious after all. She waited for him to leave, pretending that she was balancing herself as she made her way through the door. The guard watched her for a moment and Pidge knew she could no longer keep up the façade of keeping herself fidgeting, so she nodded to him and walked through the door.

The door caught her foot. Stupid guards, honestly anyone could easily come in and steal everything if _he_ was guarding the joint.

Once he was out of sight, she whistled a short and simple tune. Hunk appeared from the other end of the hall, holding a phone to his ear as an act. He reached into his pocket, tugging at a water bottle and quickly made his way into the laboratory with Pidge in toe.

“Do you have it?” Hunk asked, putting the water bottle against the frame of the door, so the door itself stayed ajar. Pidge nodded, patting the small flask to her chest. Hunk grinned, taking out his phone and swiping and typing away on it. “Great, I looped the surveillance feed. We’re good to go,”

Pidge nodded, placing her things onto the table. She dug into her pocket and pulled out a foldaway bag, opening it, she stuffed her things inside, and shrugged it over her shoulder, strapping it onto her back like a backpack. She didn’t want her or Hunk to get caught after all.

“Alright, Team Punk is a go,” she said with a smile, holding her thermos in her hands. “It took me a while to get the algorithms to work for something so small, but I’m positive it’ll work,”

Hunk nodded, he trusted Pidge and her schematics, and they had spent a long time outside of work trying to figure out how to get the symbiote out of the lab without anyone finding out what had happened until they were long gone. And no one would be here until Monday, other than the guards who kept watch. With the swipe cards taking in their location and their credentials, it was difficult to go anywhere without leaving a footprint.

That was where the guard had come in handy. No one ever really looked at the guards themselves, they only had enough leeway to get in and out, but they had no idea just what was inside, neither did they know how valuable it was. Then again, if something were to happen, most of the times the police would look at the records, see that the guard was the last one in the lab, and take him in. Pidge felt a little sorry for the guard, he hadn’t done anything wrong.

But then again, it was better him than her. He could at least prove he was innocent.

“Amazing,” Hunk smirked, taking the flask in his hands and holding it up to the light. “Alright, we only have a few minutes until the night guard comes, let’s do this.”

Pidge nodded, reaching for her tablet, the one Dr. Zarkon had told her to keep with her at all times when she was in the lab. This tablet was never monitored, so she didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing the doors to the glass room, or the vial chambers opening. She had made sure to confirm that the numbers that stated the amount of times the vial had been opened and closed was even, she’d get away with it.

Hunk stood at the door leading to the glass room, holding his hand poised over the open button. Pidge stood next to him, unscrewing the top of the flask and holding it out in front of her. The flask hissed and a slight cloud of hot air puffed out from the opening, ready to house the alien life form inside.

“You ready?” she asked.

Hunk nodded, pressing the button. The door opened with a swish and the lights turned on above them, almost blinding them as the two took quiet steps inside. It was boiling hot in here, the temperatures rising to Sahara desert levels. Pidge grimaced, thinking about those poor humans who came in here without any knowledge as to what they were getting themselves into.

She shook her head, focusing on her task. She was here to save an alien life form from the treacherous hands of Dr. Zarkon. The very man who was using humans as fodder, the very man who was torturing the poor alien life form with electric shocks and reducing it into nothing but a weary thing – and Pidge would know, she had seen his life signs plummet with every day that passed.

They desperately needed to get this alien out of here, and hopefully they could stop Dr. Zarkon and his evil plan to – most likely – rule the world at the same time.

The symbiote was lifeless in the glass chamber, so different to the way he had been all those days ago. He was tired, he was hurt, and that fuelled Pidge to continue doing this. Pidge glanced at Hunk, and he nodded back to her. She held the flask in her hands, as Hunk pressed the button on the tablet. The chamber in the middle of the room hissed and the metal of the chambers pulsed as they opened.

“What if he doesn’t fit?” Hunk yelped as he watched the symbiote slowly, ever so slowly, so different to the first time Pidge had seen him, come out of his chambers and drop ever so uselessly onto the metal of the ground.

“Too late to think about that,” Pidge grimaced as the symbiote jumped up into the air and directly into the flask. It barely fit inside, but Pidge was quick to close the lid at the top. Screwing it shut, she felt the flask shudder as it sparked to life, keeping the symbiote alive.

Pidge pocketed the flask, feeling it hum to life against her hip. Oh, that was an odd feeling. Hunk took her arm and dragged her out of the glass room. He pressed the button to close the chambers, and then switched the lights off inside. The doors closed behind them with a faint swoosh, and they were left alone in the laboratory, alien life form in Pidge’s flask.

“This was easy.” Hunk murmured.

Pidge grinned, making her way to the door and tugging at the bottle Hunk had placed against the frame to keep it open. She nabbed Hunk’s badge and swiped hers and his card against the door, letting it open. The card reader beeped twice, showing their faces and their credentials, and the lights to the room flickered on once again.

“What the hell did you do that for?” Hunk asked, and Pidge just grinned.

She reached into her bag and pulled out the files for the symbiote, holding them in her hands. Hunk watched her, confusion evident on his features as she fiddled with it. Suddenly, the doors behind them beeped and opened and the night guard appeared, looking big and brawny as he eyed them suspiciously.

“What are you two doing in here?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pidge held the files up in the air. “I stupidly forgot to leave these here, so I just came to return them, Hunk here had to remind me!”

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed, crossing his arms over his chest. “I had to remind her,”

The night guard eyed them wearily, but then scratched the back of his head. “These guys work us too hard,”

Pidge nodded, she placed the files back in their place by her desk, and made her way over to the guard, Hunk following in toe. They made their way out of the door and down the corridor.

“Wait,” The guard said, stopping them before they could get very far.

Hunk yelped, mumbling to himself. “Shit, we’ve been caught,”

“Shut up, I got this,” Pidge muttered back, the flask against her hip still humming. She turned around slowly, looking sweetly up at the guard.  “Anything wrong, sir?”

The guard narrowed his gaze at them both. “Got to check your bag,” he stated.

Pidge nodded, giving him her bag and letting him rifle through it. He took a moment, but then nodded as everything seemed to be in order. She was thankful that she had created the smaller chamber to look just like a thermos flask; he didn’t even bat an eyelid as he held it in his hands, before placing it back in her bag and handing the whole bag back to her.

“Just one more thing before you go,” he murmured, reaching into his tablet. He swiped and swung this way and that. “Ah, so you guys just came in moments before I did,”

Hunk’s eyes widened. So _that_ was why Pidge had been insistent that they didn’t close the door, and it also explained why she had taken their cards and swiped them moments before the guard appeared. When the door closed, it locked them inside, and the only way to get out was to swipe out. The guard had swiped them in, and his credentials would be on the card – but a guard could just as easily swipe to check inside, and not worry about swiping out.

He was working with a mad genius.

“See you on Monday,” Pidge said with a smile, taking Hunk’s arm and marching them both away from the guard before he found another reason to stop them.

It was when they finally reached the front steps of the building did Hunk actually take in a breath. He didn’t think they could have got away with that so easily. Pidge handed Hunk the vial, pressing a few buttons that were hidden in the lid itself and the side flashed with the same readings Hunk had gotten used to seeing with the symbiote.

“How’s he doing?” she asked.

Hunk took a look at it, “Really bad. But he seems stable for now. We’re going to have to get him to someplace better,”

Pidge nodded. “Where are we going to find a place like that for this little guy?”

Hunk took a moment, holding his hand to his chin, deep in thought. They had to find a place that was isolated, that was safe and warm and where they could come and go without having to worry about guards and employees finding them. “The safest place I can think of is Coran’s ICU,”

Pidge took his hands and grinned. “Hunk, you’re a genius!”

As quickly as they could, they both scrambled into Hunk’s bright yellow car and drove off down the long road to Altea Hospital. The alien in Pidge's flask grinning as they did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooo...  
> We'll see Keith in the next chapter, so look forward to that!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They say to write what you know huh?  
> Well, get ready. This is about to get real.

This was it.

This was the moment Keith knew he was going to die.

He sat opposite to Dr. Takeshi Shirogane – though the good doctor preferred to be called Shiro by Keith, and though at first it was awkward calling the doctor something so personal, Keith had gotten used to it quite quickly. Shiro was very kind, very humble, and very gorgeous, and he worked damn hard to become one of the best neurologists in the country. Even with his prosthetic limb. And that was a feat everyone stood up and took notice about. But he was here, taking care of Keith like he had been doing so for the past few years.

Keith tightened his grip on the edges of the chair he was sitting on, his knuckles turning white as he waited. He hated sitting on the bed when it came to things like this. He knew it was easy for the doctors to do what they needed to do to him while he was laying down, or propped up – something about his body being safe, secure and relaxed or whatever – but Keith really didn’t want to be so vulnerable right now. Which was why he had dragged himself off the comfortable bed he had called a home for the past…god knows how many years now, and settled onto the chair, IV drip screeching on the ground as he did so.

It sucked to say that he had gotten used to that drip, but he really had. It was a part of him now, and that was sickening.

He still remembered when Nurse Allura had tsked at him when he asked if it were possible for him to sit on a chair every time he got news about his condition. But she understood. Because Keith was perfectly fine and capable of doing everything any normal person out there was able to do. He just got constant headaches that debilitated him to the point where he had trouble staying up right, and breathing, sometimes.

But he wasn’t going to let that get him down.

He had never known his parents. His father had died when he was young due to a house fire, and his mother died a few years after because of the same thing he had now. He still had the letters his mother had written to him when she had been alive.  Letters telling him about his father, about how strong and brave he was. Keith’s father had been a fire fighter, a first liner. He and his team were the first ones who got to the fires, and he was one of the first who went inside first. He was also the one who took the risk to save a little girls life when all hope seemed to be have lost.

It was what had gotten him killed in the process.

Yet no amount of condolences from his fathers’ second family at the fire house was enough to extinguish the burning flame inside him, the one that set him to cinders and made him regret everything he had ever done in his life.

His father had been so brave. So brave.

Keith had wanted to follow in his footsteps. He wanted to be just as brave as his father had. But he hadn’t been able to. With his mothers’ passing however – he hated thinking about it…about her…in the hospital bed…looking up at him with such pain, yet she had been…smiling…when she said goodb—no. He wasn’t going to think about that.

He had gotten as far as passing the entrance exams, doing the drills and getting so close to tasting the job itself. He had one last exam, one that would weed out the weak and take those who did their best and deserved to be fire fighters. But that was when it happened.

_It_ being the first headache that would start the vicious cycle that was his life now.

He remembered it so well; it had come on to him like a four wheel truck slamming him head on. He had fallen back in the pain, clutching at his head, trying and failing to force the pain away. It had felt like someone was sticking hot pokers directly at his brain in hopes to melt him from the inside out.

He hadn’t known he had been screaming until the first aiders were dragging him out of the examination room and out into the open air. He had fainted from the pain and was barely awake as a car – not an ambulance, Keith had noted – had taken him from the firehouse and to the hospital. But he remembered seeing the pretty white haired nurse holding his hands and running her fingers through his hair as he lay with his head on her lap, telling him that he was going to be okay.

“ _Just breathe.”_

He had woken up three days later, which had scared him so much, to an even prettier doctor with striking white hair – and for a moment Keith wondered whether everyone in this hospital was as gorgeous as the last – looking down at his medical notes. Seeing that he had woken up, the doctor had looked up and a small, slightly strained smile was on his lips.

The white haired nurse from before had been by his bedside, doing something or another to the drips on the IV hanging on the thin pole. She also smiled when she looked at him, though this smile was bright, it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” she had said – and he remembered that, because no one had ever called him beautiful before – her accent was so different to what he was used to hearing around him.

But the smile she gave him made him self-conscious about the way he looked – it still did now. He had tried to run his fingers through his hair, but had found the act of moving tiring. Sluggishly he moved, slow and steady, like he was swimming through molasses.

“What’s happening?” he had asked, looking up at the two, but he found even his voice was a little slurred, like his tongue had swollen a few sizes.

Shiro had approached his side of the bed then, reaching forward and placing a placating hand on the space by his shoulder on the bed. He had that look on his face, his face pinched in, like he had sucked a lemon and didn’t like the taste, and he had told Keith the worst thing he could hear, next to his parents deaths.

“The headaches, your brain,” Shiro had said calmly, though his frown marred his pretty face. “We’ve found something,”

Found something. _Ha!_ They had found something alright.  A fucking tumour the size of Canada, or at least that was what it felt like most days. One that would kill him if he didn’t get it removed. They had moved so fast, and within the week, Keith had had the surgery to get that tumour out of him.

Sitting in front of Shiro, watching as he hummed once again, looking at the screen to ‘make sure’ he had said. Keith reached up to the back of his head, just above his hairline where a small scar was raised, stitches old and no longer bumpy or raised, it was almost impossible to see now.

He had had brain surgery, in hopes to get as much of the tumour out of him. But they could only do so much; they could only get to so much. It had spread much too quickly, it had been so vast, and their window for removal had been so small. He remembered sitting there, frightened beyond belief as he watched Nurse Allura's mouth moving, she had told him to focus on her, listen to her, and answer ask many questions she was asking him. He had listened to her, focused on her and answered all that he could. He had tried so hard to ignore the sound of the drills, or the saws, or whatever else he could hear as they cut open his head. But it was there, in his mind, in his ear, in his peripheral vision.

It had been awful, sickening, and he had hated every second of it. Tears had been streaming down his face, even when Shiro had turned the music up higher, not wanting Keith to hear when they drilled straight through his head.

He had hated it.

But it had to be done. And now he was here, just on the edge of recovery, waiting to see just what Shiro was going to tell him. He had hoped, wished, prayed that it was good news. That Keith could go home, to his dingy one bedroom apartment with the crappy lighting, and the equally crappy internet connections. But he loved his shit apartment…

…because it was directly opposite Lance.

Oh _Lance_. He was the one thing that had kept Keith going. Almost everyone in the department knew about his sick crush on his neighbour. They had all been there when he had told them all about Lance. Too out of it to do anything else, to think of anything else. 

Lance was his happy place.

Keith hadn’t even known he had been blabbing about Lance to Allura when he had been in surgery. But once he had started, trying to ignore everything around him and look directly at Allura and Allura alone, all he could think about was Lance. The way he smiled, and those adorable dimples that appeared at the corner of his lips, the way he laughed – god, it such a beautiful sound – the way he would sing all those Spanish or pop songs so early in the morning, so loud and happy, that it made Keith smile. The way he would just always be there whenever Keith came in or left his apartment, standing at his door, greeting him, tilting his head one way and finger saluting Keith as he closed the door.

Sometimes Keith even talked back, though it was always something stupid, or his throat would seize and he’d not know what to do. Standing there awkwardly while watching the God that lived in 13C talk about his day was the embarrassing highlight of his life. If he had nothing else, he had Lance.

And now…it seemed like he didn’t have _that_ either.

“I have bad news Keith,” Shiro reached for him then, placing a hand on his knee. Trying to be placating and calm, trying to be  _kind._ “The…tumour seems to have come back,”

 

**_It’s getting a little cramped in here, lady!_ **

Pidge gasped when she heard the graveling voice in her head. The same voice she had heard coming from the human's mouth before the alien had eaten him. She almost dropped the flask in her grasp. Hunk stopped next to her, having heard the alien speak into his mind to.

“I didn’t know he could do that without a symbiosis, did you?” Hunk gulped, looking down at the flask in Pidge’s hand. It looked so innocent, but it housed something so frightening.

Pidge shook her head, but quickened her steps as she made her way through the back doors of the hospital. She nodded to the young tan skinned woman sitting on the desk popping chewing gum.

“He’s in there,” The woman nodded and ushered her along.

“Thanks Nyma,” Pidge replied, tugging on Hunk’s hand and taking him in through the corridors and down the steps into the MRI rooms in the X-Ray Department.

Pidge spied an old, orange moustached man tinkering with the mechanics of an MRI machine, the back opened as he did something or another to it. He peeked up from his space and spotted them from the other end of the room, waving them to come over. Pidge nodded, but before she could get any closer to the doors, the flask in her hands suddenly heated up, almost burning her in the process. She loosened her grip on it, but the flask jumped out of her hand, leaping onto the ground with a thud.

Pidge gasped, reaching for the fallen flask, but it just rolled away as if it had a life of its own – well it did, after all. “What the fu—follow that flask!”

Hunk’s eyes widened as he saw the small flask rolling down the corridor as if it had a life of its own. He quickened his steps, almost careening down the hallways as they tried to chase the flask.

“Runaway flask Pidge!” Hunk cried as they turned the corridors, meandering through people. “We are chasing a _runaway flask!_ ”

The flask in question stopped for a moment in the middle of the hallway, before turning into the open doors leading to the stairwell, dodging the feet on a woman walking out.

“We’ve got him now!” Pidge replied, pushing the door open to the stairwell, but she stopped in her tracks when she saw the flask bouncing _up_ the stairs, turning the corner and continuing up. “What the—where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

She growled as she and Hunk followed the alien up the steps, all the way to the top floors. The flask stopped a few floors up from where they had entered, and pushed itself through the doors leading to the hallways once again.

“Couldn’t he have taken the lifts?” Hunk groaned when he got to the floor, gasping for breath.

Pidge took his arm and dragged him along the hallways. “We can’t let it get away,”

The flask stopped at a slightly ajar door, almost peering in to whatever was happening inside. Pidge watched, unsure of what it was doing. She held a hand out to Hunk, motioning for him to circle around it. They could outsmart the flask and try to capture it together.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Hunk whispered, noticing this floor was pretty much empty, save for a few nurses at the nurses station, all of whom were paying none of them attention, focused instead on their work. That was good for them. They _were_ trying to be inconspicuous after all.

Pidge motioned a ‘go’, and both she and Hunk jumped in the air, leaping forward in hopes to capture the flask. But it just rolled on into the room. Groaning as they hit the ground, they looked up into the room and saw a familiar face.

“Keith?”

 

_Only a few months to live, huh?_

Keith held his hand to his heart, slamming his chest a few times in hopes to stop the pain that was tugging at his entire body. He knew he was in shock, Shiro had tried to be as calm and kind as he could be, but it didn’t matter how quiet, or how calm, or just how god damn kind he was being.

Keith had a clock on him now, three months in total. Less, Shiro had told him. Three months was optimistic. Three months was…

He slammed his fist to his chest again and again and again. There was no need to question what was happening, or ask god why, _why me?_ What was he going to do? So he just sat there on his bed, the headaches pounding, his eyes straining from all the tears he had shed, his fingers were clammy, goose bumps thick and painful almost on his skin.

He was going to die.

But at least he was out of here now. Keith was not going to spend the last few months he had left in this place. He had spent most of his life here, no way, no how was he going to die here.

He had plans after all.

_Lance._ He was going to ask Lance out. Yeah, he was going to ask Lance out once and for all. He just wanted his last memory to be something good, he wanted to remember a kiss from the man he had been pining after ever since he had stepped foot into that god awful apartment.

Then… _then_ he would die.

He didn’t have any tears left to shed, but he knew if he did, he’d still be crying now. There was something thick clogged in his throat, denying escape. He just…he wanted today to start over. He wanted to _not_ know. Being in that oblivious bliss of thinking everything was okay.

He was going to die.

He barely heard the scuffle outside of his door, but he definitely heard someone calling his name in such confusion.

“Keith?”

Keith tilted his head to his name and saw his next door neighbour on the ground with a large Samoan man, they were grasping at a flask in their hands.

“Pidge?” he asked, pushing the blankets from his body and trying to get up. He felt too exhausted that he almost lost his balance. “What are you doing here?”

But before Pidge could answer – or come up with a story – the flask in her hands cracked open with a hiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Runaway flask!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could you consider this to be...love at first sight?
> 
> Ps. **Bold** is Venom speaking to Keith (and only Keith).

Venom was a master when it came to finding what he wanted.

His nose sniffed and snuffled like a hound as he pushed himself in an odd roll, he was used to this kind of movement, as he made his way through the sterile smelling building.

Hospital’s smell crap, like all the time. What the hell man, they’re supposed to be sterile and shit, not this lazy ass…potato mashed with medicine shitty smell. If it hadn’t been for the pleasant sting against his nose, and his body quivering as soon as the little Pidge had brought him all the way out here, he’d have jumped out of her bag and rolled down the streets on the hunt for food.

His bond was here, he could smell him.

Grinning, showing all of his teeth, though there was no one to _see_ it, he rolled down the long whatever the fuck he was corridor, trying to get closer and closer and closer, god damn it all, he was almost there!

When he reached where the scent was a little stronger, he knew he had caught his body. He was ready and willing. Oh, look at the scent of you, all strong and beautiful. Take me big boy!

He amped himself up, ready to vault into his body’s willing and waiting hands – fuck, he _hoped_ they were willing, but _eh_ , if they weren’t then he’d just force them to take him – and shuddered as he started rolling into the hospital room. This was going to be like one of those telenovela’s or those romance movies where he walked in, their eyes would meet and hearts would appear, violins would play and everything would be amazing. And then his body would hold his hands out and he’d hug them, and then bond with them.

Yeah…perfect idea Ven, you’re a genius!

He was about to get his happily ever after, but it was short lived when he felt himself slamming onto the ground – to be fair, he hadn’t exactly _jumped_ that high yet – he felt the small world around him tilt a little, making him already more nauseous than he already was. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him.

He had his body to meet after all.

Slithering a few tendrils out to his side, he spotted the little suction that held the flask he was in and slipped his flattened tendrils inside – he was an octopus, he was! – and quickly zipped his tentacles in a circle, releasing the suction itself. With that done, he was able to reach further and unscrew the lid from the inside. It hissed, and Venom had to hold his breath as cold air came inside. But he had taken those sweet few seconds to take in the gorgeous scent that was his bodies.

Oh yeah, this was going to be so _sweet!_

He could hear the collective gasps coming from the little Pidge and the massive man as he pushed the lid clean off the flask, it landed with a thud on the other side of the room, but he didn’t care. He had to make an entrance after all. Alright, body. Prepare to be amazed!

Slithering out onto the slippery linoleum floor was harder than it first looked, but he made do with it. So his first entrance wasn’t all that pomp and circumstance, it was better than him falling flat on his face. He looked up and saw his body, the perfect specimen to be compatible with.

Oh yeah. Look at all that pale sickly pallor, just ready for him to snack on, those jewel like purple eyes, pretty lips and that long hair – wait, his body was a boy…right? Was that a mullet? – ah screw it, he had a body that was banging, all lithe and slim and well toned, and Venom was ready to get inside him.

He was starving for heat, for air, for that body.

Those pretty jewel like purple eyes were looking at him, wide and lovely. Don’t be scared baby; I’m not going to bite… _you_ anyway. He was quick to act when he heard the little Pidge and her massive man scramble to get up, taking the flask and trying to scoop him up. Nuh huh, he wanted to look, and touch and _taste._

So he dodged their attacks and vaulted up into the air, his body was watching him, stock still in shock, and surprisingly morbid attraction. Nice, just the way I like my body. Venom landed on his chest, shuddering and shivering when he heard the heavy thud, thud thudding of his heart beating in his warm chest. _Oh yeah,_ Venom slithered himself all around that chest, tendril’s reaching far and wide over the expanse of that body. _Oh boy,_ now _that’s_ what you call a fine ass.

He felt like a kid getting everything he wanted for Christmas. He could _feel_ the shivers wracking his body’s body. Tiny tremors as he tried to stay still. He could hear the two scientists behind him telling his body not to move, don’t move or you’ll exacerbate it.

Pssh, he wasn’t going to hurt his body, this body was _his_ after all. He was going to wear it like a glove, like a suit, and he was going to love it, and cherish it, and care for it as if it were his own. Yeah, that’s what he was going to do.

When he found skin, he grinned. Yup, _perfect temperature._ His tendrils snaked up his body’s still prone chest, across his broad shoulders and up his neck. He frowned when he came upon the healing scar. His body had a tumour eh?

Yeah, Ven was going to fix that right up, have him in tip top shape, all shiny and pretty and purring like a kitten.

He grinned as his tendrils stretched into that small scarred bruise, slipping into his skin and quickly sluicing his black self all over that body. Once he was in, he could hear his body screaming, felt those hands try to grasp at the last of his tendrils as they slurped into him. Don’t worry baby, this will only hurt for a bit.

He spread as far as his body allowed him to stretch, coasting from shoulder to shoulder, encompassing his chest, his stomach, his …oooh, would you look at _that?_ His body was packing _heat!_ He encased that carefully, liking the feel, and continued down to his body’s thighs and legs, all the way to the tip of his toes. He stretched his body to the arms now, reaching down to his hands, palms, fingers, getting the feel of them, moving them.

His body had good reflexes, was pretty healthy, other than that awful fatality in his head. Venom spread up over his body’s neck, and cradled the back of his head. He sought out the nasty tumour at the back of his head and grinned at the light snack. Oooh, baby. Tumours tasted sickening, but it wasn’t all that bad. Like when you got too much salt in your food.

It gave his head a little bit of a woozy feeling, like he was coming down from a high, and he finally settled over that mullet, his soft hair, and his ears and reached his forehead. He sunk into those eyes, his nose, his cheeks, his chin and lips.

Perfect fit.

_Keith_ eh? His body had a pretty… _eh_ name. Nothing like his own awesome name, but at least it wasn’t something stupid.

He could feel Keith’s fear, the way he was shivering and shuddering, bracing himself for whatever he thought Venom was going to do. But Venom wasn’t going to do anything to his body. Hell, he was going to use this body and be the best god damn superhero crime fighting bad ass ever.

**_Don’t worry Keithy; I’m going to make it all better._ **

 

“WHAT THE FUCK?”

Keith’s screaming had alerted the nurses and they all came bustling in ready to fight to the death it seemed. One of the nurses moved over towards him, holding her hands up and trying to calm him down, another turned to Hunk and Pidge, asking them just what the hell had happened.

Pidge didn’t know what to say, hell neither did Hunk _or_ Keith.

The symbiote should have killed him. Keith should have been a mess on the ground, a bloodied stain. Yet no, he was here, standing upright, looking as if there was nothing wrong with him. Other than his eyes, which were wide and distant looking, he looked almost…normal.

The nurses fussed around him, checking his vitals, taking his bloods and laying him back down on the bed. Pidge and Hunk moved to one side of the room, keeping out of the way, trying to figure out what was happening.

“Why isn’t he…you know?” Hunk asked, motioning his hands to Keith.

Pidge shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know,” she turned to Keith and saw just how scared he was looking right now. “We got to tell him,”

“And say what?” Hunk asked incredulously. “Oh, by the way dude, you just got an alien inside your body, which is going to eat you the first chance it gets?”

“What?!” Keith screeched, grasping at his shirt and dragging it up over his head. He prodded and scratched at his skin, drawing blood as he tried to get the symboite that had absorbed itself inside him. “What the ever loving—get it _out of me!”_

**_No can do Keithy, I leave, you die._ **

“And now I’m hearing things?” Keith cried, holding a hand to his head, sucking in gasp fills of breath as the nurses around him told him to rest, relax, _and breathe._ He couldn’t do this; this had to be some kind of nightmare! Yes, he was dreaming, that was it. He was dreaming! He was laying here in bed, all alone after Shiro had told him of the ticking clock on his head. And he hadn’t seen his neighbours hurtle into his room, or a black tar jelly like… _thing_ slither across the ground and wrap around him like some kind of…of…parasite!

**_I am not a parasite!_ **

“What the hell is happening?” Keith cried, gripping his head tighter.

A few moments of him trying to catch his breath passed, and the door to his room slammed open. In strolled Shiro, his hair a little disarray, his eyes were a little strained red and had black bags under them. Had he been crying?

“Keith!” he made his way around the nurses and found Keith’s hand, ushering him back onto the bed safely and securely. “What happened? Are you okay? Where does it hurt?”

The words came all too quickly at Keith, and he found he wasn’t able to answer anything at all. His breathing only quickened, he grasped at his chest, pounding at it until it was bruised red and raw. He couldn’t breathe, _he couldn’t breathe!_

**_Calm down my Keithy,_** the voice was calm now, though grated and growlingly low. But Keith listened to it, this voice in his head. **_Just take deep breaths. I am not going to eat you, or hurt you. I need you, just as much as you need me._**

What the fuck was happening?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry its a short one this time, but I hope you liked it all the same!
> 
> Now that Venom is inside Keith, this is where the fun is going to begin!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, lets just see what Keith thinks about Venom in his...everywhere?

It was weird, like a shock wave went through him. Heat enveloped him, sinking into his very bones, like the feeling he imagined one got when they sunk into a nice hot bath. His body relaxed, his skin prickled a little, and a slight shiver ran down his spine, but other than that, he felt…

Well. He felt good.

_There is something in your head, Keith._

_Just breathe._ This is probably just a nightmare. Well, it was a pretty realistic nightmare; that was for sure. He could literally feel the black tar like whatever it was moving around inside him, sinking deeper and deeper into his skin. He felt something sharp prod at the back of his head, the same exact place where the doctors had drilled into his head to get his tumour before it spread – ha! Like that actually helped! – as if there was something inside there, pressing and prickling, gnawing and biting at the bad part of his brain.

He reached for his head, almost knocking back Dr. Shiro who was fluffing his pillows for him, asking him all sorts of questions, all of which he tried to answer. But he was still in shock. He _had_ just witnessed what looked to be sentient coffee erupting from Pidge’s flask and jumping on him before…before…whatever the fuck it was the coffee thing did.

He apologised to Shiro quietly, ducking his head down as he tried to push the good doctor away. He never did like people making such a fuss over him after all – why bother to care about him when they were just going to up and leave him soon – and tugged the blankets over his body in a stance to hide himself away from Shiro. It had taken the doctor a bit of a while to wrestle Keith back on the bed, and Keith had to let Shiro have at least that much.

His fingers slipped into his hair, pressing lightly at the sore spot on the back of his head and he frowned. It wasn’t really hurting any more, now that he thought about it. After the surgery, there had always been a slight ache whenever he pressed at it. But right now, it just felt like his head, just a little raised at the incision part, the stitches having all healed well enough for him to touch it.

He gasped when he felt something actually pulse inside his head, under his very skin. Oh, that was such an odd feeling. It rolled over his body like a muscle, like a little wave beneath his fingertips too. Melding together and slotting themselves into place.

Whatever was happening was odd. But it didn’t…it didn’t really _hurt._ It felt similar to when someone else would run their fingers down your skin. Warm, fluttering and _normal._ This was all kinds of odd. Shouldn’t this whole thing have…hurt? A weird slimy sludgy type alien thing _had_ just sucked itself up into him.

Was this his tumour making fun of him and giving him weird thoughts in his head?

**_Don’t worry my Keithy, I got it!_ **

Keith’s eyes widened.

“Got what?” Keith asked to the air, hoping and wishing that he wasn’t the only one who was hearing that deep growlingly low voice. It was distorted and odd, but it felt similar to when he was talking to himself.

“What?” One of the nurses asked him.

Huh, how could they not have heard the voice? It had been so loud, like someone was speaking right into his ear. Maybe it _was_ just in his head? And he was finally going insane? That made more sense than what actually happened after all.

“Why don’t you try and lie down,” Shiro said suddenly, standing before him and placing a hand on his forehead. He ushered Keith back onto the bed, straightening his blankets and pillow out as he did so. He shooed the other nurses away, motioning them to check his vitals. “You’re not warm, but I think you’re getting a little delirious, does it hurt anywhere?”

**_Nowhere YOU can help sexy,_** the voice started, **_My Keithy is a one man kind of guy._**

That voice _was_ in his head! He could tell because Shiro hadn’t even reacted to what the voice was saying. And Keith _knew_ he hadn’t been the one to say anything, neither had the others in the room. But then, if that was the case…

_Wait_ …no, this can’t be happening. He had not just been taken over by a…a…whatever that was. His voice in his head was _not_ doing this to him. He was just sleeping, yeah, nightmare after all right? He was lying in bed, after having his medication, and he was just having a weird and very lucid dream. Either that or he was hallucinating.

Yeah, he was hallucinating; the voice in his head wasn’t actually there. That was it…what if his tumour had made him schizophrenic or bipolar? Oh god, if that was the case then Lance was damn sure not going to give him the time of day!

**_I want to see Lance too! He looks pretty in your thoughts!_ **

See, dreaming. He was just dreaming.

“Keith, you doing okay?” The large Samoan spoke this time, and Keith wondered just where he may have seen someone like him when he was roaming the hospital. After all, dreams picked faces from your subconscious. Pidge lived next door to him, maybe this man lived somewhere in his building too? Or maybe Keith had seen him on the street somewhere, smiling and taking notice in passing.

“Yeah,” Keith said, smiling a little despite his predicament. After all, he was dreaming, what else could go wrong? “Just peachy, I mean, I _am_ going to die in a few months because of my tumour, but you already know that don’t you, random dream person,”

“Oh my god, he thinks he’s dreaming,” Pidge cried, holding a hand to her head and dragging it down her face. She didn’t know what to think. She had just witnessed the symbiote and the way it moved around in people for the past week. She wondered just why this symbiote was taking so long to eat Keith. She just hoped and prayed the alien liked Keith enough to leave him peacefully, and maybe not blow him up from the inside out.

It was a small miracle, wasn’t it?

Hunk pulled her to the side.

“Why hasn’t the alien…you know,” Hunk asked, motioning with his hands, putting his hands together like a first and spreading his fingers out to mimic an explosion.

Pidge shrugged her shoulders, turning to look at Keith once again. She knew her neighbour had been looking much more sickly as the days grew, and she had constantly seen him returning almost all the time with a hospital band on his wrist, he always tried to tuck in inside his red leather jacket, but Pidge always saw.

She hadn’t expected him to be in the neurology department.

“Dream Shiro, I need to speak to Dream Pidge please,” Keith said to the doctor, thanking him for helping him out and motioning the large man to the side. He wasn’t in any pain right now, but he knew to them all they heard was him screaming bloody murder.

Shiro tsked, though it didn’t have the same bite as nurse Allura, but he moved to the side, informing one of the nurses to take his bloods just in case. The nurse got to work quickly, forcing Keith to stay on the bed. He frowned when she pricked his skin with the needle, but paid it no heed, because…well…it didn’t _hurt._

He did notice the blood was surprisingly normal. He would have thought with the sentient coffee running rampant in his mind, his blood would have turned neon yellow or purple or some other alien ooze colour. Huh, guess he _was_ hallucinating.

“Hey Keith,” Pidge said slowly, making her way over to him in easy and carefully taken steps. She still had the flask in her hand, but it was limp to her sides. “Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, you got any…queasy or…cannibalistic feelings?” Hunk added quickly, making the nurses and Shiro peer up like meerkats over to him, eyeing the large Samoan oddly.

“What exactly happened here?” Shiro asked, but his question fell on deaf ears when Keith suddenly perked up, his eyes wide and his mouth opened a little.

“I’m hungry,” he stated slowly, and carefully. Placing a hand on his stomach and patting it a little in his wake. “Like _really_ hungry,”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!  
> Sorry its so late today, but this entire Saturday has been very busy for me.  
> So this chapter is short too, I'll definitely write a nice long one tomorrow. Hopefully...
> 
> Let's get on with the show, eh?

Hungry.

Keith was hungry.

And not in the ‘I want a snack or a good meal sometimes soon’ kind of hungry, but the kind where his stomach was acting as if it hadn’t been filled for days, chewing at itself, the ache distracting and loud. There were sudden knots forming in his stomach and chest, tightening and tightening and tightening, wringing him out completely ragged, until all he could think about was the pain itself. It was like he was too exhausted from it to actually feed himself something, anything… _god_ he was so _hungry_.

And he was thirsty too. Now that he was able to really consider his body, he noticed his aches. His throat felt so parched, like a god damn desert, like the sun itself had taken residence in his throat and dried it of any and all water. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move. He needed something.

**_Meat! We want meat Keithy,_ **

The gravelly voice seemed to have the right idea, because suddenly the promise of meat sounded all too fascinating. And Keith was finding his body starting to listen to him, intent to move, intent to get what his stomach was asking of him. Meat, yes, he wanted meat. Steak, chicken, pork, hell even fish would do. The fresher the better in fact. Like literally, he wouldn’t even care if he ran to the nearest farm and bite into a freakin’ cow or a pig or something.

_Wait, what are you even thinking Keith?_

**_How could you forget so quickly? We kind of want something to eat Keithy,_** the voice started again, directly into his head as if it was talking to him into his ear. Keith still was in denial about the whole thing being real. ** _Something like meat…_**

The voice was starting to sound kind of ticked off at not getting what it wanted. And Keith knew that was going to be a bad idea in the end. If this monster didn’t get what it wanted, would it start eating from _him?_

 ** _That’s a good thought,_** the voice grinned, and Keith could _feel_ its wide smile, teeth sharp and jagged and huge on his dark face. **_I DO have all of this fresh meat right here….liver, kidneys, lungs, heart…mmm…_**

“No!” Keith yelled, holding his hands to his head and pressing at the voice.  “Don’t do that!”

 ** _Oh, Keithy, when are you going to learn?_** The voice giggled, actually, seriously, _giggled. **If you die, then I die. I don’t want to leave such a compatible body.**_

Keith looked up into Shiro’s eyes as they doctor sat before him, his mouth moving and his expression worried and confused, though Keith wasn’t really paying any attention to Shiro at all. The voice in his head was giggling again, it sounded so joyful, so happy, as if it had gotten just what it wanted.

Maybe Keith being a compatible body for it _was_ what it wanted.

“What are you…” Keith started, not really knowing what he wanted to ask. Why him? Why now? And for gods sake, why in front of all of these people? He tried to speak quietly, but he was still murmuring out loud, and Shiro was definitely close enough to hear him. “Compatible? I’m a compatible body?”

 ** _Uh huh, pretty little Keithy, you’re all kinds of delicious…_** Keith almost whined at that, because he knew if this monster wanted to eat him, or hurt him even, he could do so, so very easily. Hell, he was already inside Keith, how easy would it be to just…have at him? **_And anyway, I have an agenda…_**

“An agenda? What the hell do you mean?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side, he knew to everyone else he looked like he was talking to himself. And he definitely could hear Shiro murmuring to the other nurses about something or another. Let them blame it on his tumour, or maybe he _was_ finally going crazy. This dream was running his mind rampant. He could only imagine what others thought. But if this _was_ real, and he really had been abducted, taken over, _whatever_ by this sentient coffee alien, he needed to figure out what it wanted.

 ** _I have some unfinished business,_** the monster said with such finality.

Oh, that was helpful.

What kind of unfinished business could this monster have? Did he want to take over the planet? Did he have friends from wherever he came from waiting to invade them all and kill them? Was his unfinished business the annihilation of the planet?

 ** _You watch too many movies, Keithy,_** the voice reprimanded. **_And stop calling me monster._**

“Then tell me your name!” Keith cried, holding his hands tighter to his head, gripping at his hair. He tried to force the thoughts from his mind, but it was no use. It was right there, so bright and dark at the same time. That queasy, sick feeling erupted in his stomach again, and he groaned.

**_I am Venom._ **

Venom, huh? What a weird name his mind had come up with.

But he couldn’t really think about that, because his stomach decided to make itself known once again. He wasn’t going to find meat anytime soon, but at least he could try to quench his thirst. Looking to his side, he saw that large plastic pitcher of water and went for it. Pushing the nurse aside, he yanked the blankets from over his body, ignoring Shiro who was trying to get him back on the bed, and made for the water.

Shiro noticed his destination and helped him up to it, handing him the glass by the side and reaching for the jug. But Keith got to it first, he pushed Shiro’s hand out of the way and took the pitcher into his arms. Pressing at the lid to release the spout, he drank straight from the jug itself.

“Keith!” Shiro started, but Keith didn’t listen.

He just had to get something to drink. And the water was helping him somewhat, almost easily he drank the water, gulping down the surprisingly cool water until the jug was completely empty. But it didn’t do much to quench his thirst, not really. He was still so thirsty, and still so hungry.

God, if only he could surround himself in water, and drink from the bath or something? _That’s it!_ He needed to submerge himself in it. That was what would help him. Right?

But how was he going to find a bathtub here? The hospital didn’t exactly cater to that kind of care, not for him anyway. He only had a shower at home.

Wait… _Lance_ had a tub. Well, he must have. No one could look so shiny and gorgeous and so well rested and beautiful unless they had a bath tub. Yeah, that was what he was going to believe.

He needed to get to Lance. He pushed Shiro away again, ripping out the IV one of the nurses had placed in his arm to check for his bloods, grimacing as he did so. But he didn’t listen to either of them when he tried to get them out of the way, murmuring words quickly.

“Home, I need to get home,”

Shiro stood before him, crossing his arms over his chest. “Keith, I don’t think that’s a very good—”

“Less than three months, Shiro,” Keith stated, reaching for his shoes and shoving the socks tucked in them onto his feet. “You said I have less than three months to live, and I am _not_ going to spend another second of them here,”

Shiro stayed solid for a moment, but then sighed, waiting for Keith to get his shoes on. “Alright, let me take you home at least, your friends can follow,”

Keith nodded, turning to see Pidge and the large Samoan still standing there, watching him with calculating eyes, as if they were waiting for something to happen – what, Keith had no idea of.

He needed to see Lance. Right now. With the last few days he had left on this earth, he was going to do something about his massive crush on his neighbour. He needed to get answers. But first, he needed to get something to drink, and sitting in a bathtub of water sounded absolutely perfect right now – especially if Lance joined him. Oh yeah, that was a great idea Keith.

**_And then we get some meat._ **

Yes. And then they’d get some meat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter...we finally meet Lance.  
> What will Venom think of him?


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Venom meet's Lance...

Keith knew he wasn’t going to get any actual real rest until he was lying in his own bed, trying to come up with just what kind of weird dream hallucination mishmash of crap that his life was suddenly turning into.

So of course this had to be the time when everything was going to go wrong, because of course his life sucked from the day he was born.

Which was why he was standing there, in front of the building door, looking up to his apartment floor window and seeing that there was a massive hole in one of his living room windows, a sifting small plume of black smoke and soot coming out from the broken glass, like snakes trying to escape. There was a thick crack going through the brick over and under the window space too, which just meant to Keith that someone had intentionally tried to destroy his home.

Thank god Keith hadn’t been inside.

But then again, he had just lost everything he held dear to him. Where was the police? Why weren’t they investigating or whatever? Had they come and gone? Or was Keith just not that important to them? He lived central to the city, so it wasn’t like no one else saw it.

Maybe this was all covered up or something? Maybe whoever had come and destroyed his home had paid everyone off and left without a word. And that was why there was no police or fire department teeming all over the place?

Okay, so there was no actual fire, just that slippery slivering plume of smoke that was dissipating as he stood there. Maybe it wasn’t a fire? But some kind of gas? Like tear gas or sleeping gas or whatever else mobsters or the police threw into rooms in all those movies Keith watched.

Ah…that explained it.

Right?

Shiro patted him on his shoulder and moved him into the house. He had told Keith he wasn’t going to leave until Keith was safe in his own house. But Keith had told him not to worry. He could get home by himself for god’s sake; he wasn’t an invalid or someone that needed help like a god damn child.

He shrugged Shiro’s hand off him and slotted his key into the keyhole. The slot opened above it, showing a number pad, keying in his number he waited for the tell tale beep of the door opened. With a sigh, he pushed the door open and walked into his building. Shiro following behind. He was about to let the door close behind him, but saw both Pidge and the Samoan make their way through.

Keith sighed. “Seriously, this dream is getting weirder and weirder,”

They all piled into the small lifts, Shiro standing silently, watching Keith, while the other two watched him too, except Keith definitely noticed a difference in the way they stared. Shiro actually looked like he cared for Keith’s overall well being, making sure note all of his breathing and any health concerns. Whereas the other two were watching him as if they expected him to blow up, or worse, hurt them.

Maybe they knew what was happening.

But there was little chance Keith was going to ask them about the sentient coffee with Shiro with them. The poor doctor probably already believed he was insane what with his earlier bouts of ‘talking to himself’, it was probably why he had come all the way here, following him to his home.

“Are you okay to leave the hospital like that?” Keith asked, arms crossed over his chest as he glanced up at the good doctor.

Shiro shrugged his shoulders. “I was finishing my shift anyway,”

Come to think of it, Shiro was dressed in casual clothing, no tie, and no button up shirt. He was dressed in a loose fitting shirt and jeans – which was all kinds of odd for Keith to see, because he had only ever seen Shiro as _Doctor Shiro,_ and never just plain, every day Shiro – but he still had an air of ‘authority’ as he stood there. It exuded from his very presence after all.

The other two…

Well, Keith really didn’t know what to think about them. He already knew Pidge; she was his neighbour after all. And he could always hear some kind of constant humming coming from her home, like she had machinery pressed up against the wall or something. And that humming and whirring always lasted well into the morning many nights in a row. She was always a bit of a gremlin, but then whenever she’d see Keith coming back from yet another hospital appointment or something, she’d always smile at him and welcome him.

He was the idiot who curtly nodded to her, said a quaint hello and walked quickly to his home. He knew he always looked sickly, always with a pale pallor, and oh god, queasy at most times when he returned from the doctors, he didn’t want her to worry about him.

The large Samoan man was new, but he was dressed similarly to Pidge, with the white coat and the thin yellow lanyard around his neck, the badge tucked into his breast pocket, that Keith could easily ascertain that this man worked with Pidge at Galra Tech.

He let himself relax a little. The voice in his head was silent, thank goodness. And Keith was glad to know that he most likely had imagined all that crap happening to him. A hallucination for definite, But that meant that Keith was indeed either schizophrenic, or just damn crazy.

Great…

The lifts dinged as they stopped at his floor. For the first time in his life he was dreading leaving the safety of the lift compartment. Because going out into the sickly carpeted hallway meant that the situation was real, that he was bringing his day home with him. That he was bringing a sentient coffee alien who had been absorbed into him and was now talking to him in his head was _real._

But most importantly – not that _that_ wasn’t important, but then again when Keith’s priorities were as straight as he was, and with all those late night sessions thinking about his gorgeous Cuban _male_ neighbour…well, you get the drift – but yeah, most importantly going out into the hallway meant that Lance would now be part of this awful charade that was his life.

**_This is your home?_ **

And of course the voice – Venom – just had to pipe in and add to his already messed up day. What was left?

**_Keithy, we can’t be living in this squalor!_ **

Keith shook his head. “My house was probably invaded or robbed you… _parasite!_ Have a heart! _”_

“We need to get you back to the hospital and into a CT or something,” Shiro piped up, and Keith held his hand up to him, stopping him from whatever he was going to try and force Keith to do. No way, he wasn’t going to spend the rest of his short life sitting in a hospital bed, going to tests after tests in attempt to prolong his life, when he knew it wasn’t possible.

He had better things to do with his life right now.

 ** _I am NOT a parasite, and I too have a heart!_** Venom growled, and Keith felt his heart squeeze a little in Venom’s jest, knocking the very breath out from his chest.

“Don’t _do_ that!” Keith growled right back, thudding his chest as if he were attempting to slap the alien away. He heard Venom huff, but it stayed silent now, thankfully. It scared him that Venom was able to do something like that to him so easily. He had wrapped all his tentacles around Keith, and he didn’t seem to look like he was leaving any time soon.

_It would be best to play nice with the alien sitting in your brain Keith._

He sighed, stepping out of the lifts and down the hallways, he held his key in his hand, ready to just get into his apartment and hopefully not see Lance at all – and though his heart was completely against not being able to see that beautiful smile and those pretty eyes light up, he knew it was for the best.

He had less hope to have Lance than he had before, and he had had no hope before, so that was saying something.

He could hear Shiro and the two scientists follow behind him, still watching him as if he were a ticking time bomb about to go off – in some ways, Keith thought they were probably right. First the tumour and now the alien parasite – **_I am not a parasite! –_** Fine the alien host, how’s that? – **_Better._**

Great…

But what he definitely didn’t expect was to suddenly have his gorgeous neighbour crash into him, almost knocking him completely off his feet as he all but _glomped_ Keith.

“Oh my god! Thank god you’re okay!” Lance babbled, tightening his grip around Keith’s neck, pulling him into a hug that pretty much floored him right then and there.

Yup, see how this was all definitely a dream now? This right here solidified that thought of his. When would Lance ever want to hug him like this in the real world? He was the sickly weirdo in 13B, the one who came and went all the time, the one who barely spoke two words to the hot Cuban living next door – though he tried, damn hell did he try, but that smile always made him tongue tied – and he was barely ever able to do the whole “small talk”, his social skills were rusty at best.

So yeah, Lance bombarding him with a hug – like Keith had imagined him doing, because who the hell wouldn’t like to have such a gorgeous man greet them like _this_ every time they got back home? – and holding him close, murmuring and babbling about how _worried_ he was and _oh my god, Keith, when I saw your door kicked open, I almost lost it!_

He wondered why Lance hadn’t called the police if there had been a break in and _oh my god Lance, are_ you _alright._ But when he turned, he saw Lance’s bag leaning against his door, and the man was still in his uniform, and this usually was the time Lance got home from work.

Not that Keith had been noticing, or watching…or waiting at his door whenever the clock ticked closer and closer to six every night, peering out of his door like a stalker, just so he could catch a glimpse of Lance’s side, Lance’s back, as he opened his door, putting his things inside, and sometimes he’d be able to catch those beautiful eyes looking at the door, at him, as if he knew Keith was there, watching him.

Where was he going with this?

 ** _This is Lance?_** Crap, Venom, please. Don’t do this to me. **_He smells amazing…you’ve got good taste, babe._**

Oh god. Now that he thought about it, Lance really _did_ smell amazing, like some kind of pine and petrichor, like the ocean crashing against a sandy beach, like standing in the middle of a forest and taking in the fresh air – _oh, crap… **good, so very delicious. Keithy, his skin is so smooth!**_

Wasn’t it…all firm under his fingers, hot and smooth and _wow…_ Keith melted into Lance’s embrace, taking in the amazing feel of his broad chest, those lithe muscles, thick arms and oh man, his caramel coloured skin, he was eager to take a bite, or lick that skin, just to see if Lance tasted as good as he smelled.

“Not that I’m not happy about this,” Lance murmured into his ear, stiffening in his arms. “But maybe not when there are people watching,”

_What?_

**_Lancey has smooth skin and pretty eyes…smells delicious…Ven wants him, Keith. We want him!_ **

Oh god, _oh god!_ He yanked his hands away from under Lance’s shirt, his fingers burning from where they had been touching his back, gripping tight. He stepped away, stumbling on his own feet as he slumped back onto his door. It opened, the latch having broken, and Keith fell back onto his carpeted ground – black star like sludge tendrils softening his fall, he noticed – and gasped, hiding his face in his hands in his embarrassment.

_Great…way to make an entrance, Venom…_

**_I thought it went pretty well._ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....hehehe.  
>  It's nice to know Venom likes Lance, hmm?  
> The future seems...to be surrounded by like sentient coffee.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg. Lance's POV!

Lance was freaking out for two completely separate reasons that night.

Well, make that three, but the last one kind of melded neatly with the first freaking out-edness he was feeling, so it was just two. Wait, he was babbling.

So, Lance had a plan. It had been a pretty easy plan, in all honesty. But he hadn’t expected it all to go completely wrong at the turn of a hat.

So, his plan was to try and finally get his gorgeous neighbour, one Keith Kogane, to talk to him. Sure they spoke all the time – well more like Lance spoke, while Keith stood there, eyes wide looking like a deer caught in headlights (a _cute_ deer at that) – but you see, Lance had needs, and wants and desires.

He _needed_ Keith to talk to him, to notice him, to talk to him. He _wanted_ Keith to come into his apartment, have dinner, watch a movie or talk about their day. And he desperately _desired_ to kiss that gorgeous piece of hotness that lived so nonchalantly opposite him.

Sometimes Lance felt like the luckiest man in the whole world, being able to see the gorgeous man every time he left – yeah, so Lance knew his schedule, even when it was erratic like it had been lately – and if he didn’t, he had his sister Allura and her fiancé Shiro on speed dial, and when he had found out that Keith frequented the hospital for some reason or another (Allura _still_ won’t tell him why, patient doctor privilege or some stupid safeguarding thing like that), he had also seen those hospital bands around Keith’s wrists, though the poor hottie always tried his best to hide them under his sleeve, but when you have a sister who’s a nurse and a future brother in law who is a doctor, you can pinpoint those kinds of things on people --  he was able to figure out Keith’s schedule.

Allura was always there to lend a very strict and very stern hand to help him out. Lance was able to know just when Keith had left the hospital, or when he had a longer day because of examinations or whatever.

His poor Keith.

Sometimes however, when it was the middle of the night and Lance could just about hear Keith moving around in his house – the walls to the entire apartment were crap at best – he despised that he lived so close to the gorgeous hottie, yet he was unable (see cowardly) to actually go do something about it.

Not anymore.

He had noticed Keith had been looking a lot more down for the past few weeks now, and Lance decided that he would do his best to cheer the hottie up. He wasn’t blind, he knew Keith felt a little something for him too, he could tell in those shy smiles, those stuttered conversations, the absolutely beautiful way his cheeks and ears turned a bright pink when he was embarrassed.

But he also knew that Keith was shy, they still hadn’t really had a proper conversation since he moved in, and though Lance tried, he really wanted Keith to relax around him.

Which brought him to his excellent, fool proof plan. He was going to bake Keith his mama’s famous caramel butter cookies. They always warmed his stomach and made him feel happy, so he hoped it Keith had them, he’d feel the same.

He had made his way back from work that afternoon, parking his car in his spot and getting out. He reached into the backseat and took out the bags of groceries he would need to make the perfect cheer up cookies that’d not only make Keith happy, but make his mama proud.

He had spent an _extra_ long time trying to find that perfect caramel essence his mama used in her baking, he was determined to make it perfect, though he knew he was being a bit presumptuous. What if Keith didn’t even like it?

No, he definitely would. And then Lance would invite him in for a drink, coffee, tea, whatever, and then they’d spend the night talking…and if that led to a date or two, _or more_ , then Lance wasn’t going to complain.

He pushed the car door closed with his hip, locking it with his key fob, and made his way into the building. Too engrossed in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the thick black mass escaping from the broken window or Keith’s apartment. Neither had he noticed the thin plumes of black smoke slowly dissipating in the black masses’ wake.

Getting into the lifts, he pressed the button to his floor and waited as the lift descended. Humming a tune to himself, he straightened the bags in his hand, making sure he had everything. The lifts opened and Lance almost jumped when he saw a man in a thick white coat – like one a doctor or a scientist would wear – walked out of the lifts. He had a thick scar going from just over his eye to the curve of his cheek; it looks weirdly fresh, yet old at the same time. He gave Lance a steady and hard look, giving him a once over, before huffing and walking out.

_Rude!_

Lance paid him no mind. He was probably some dumb and rude guest to one of the others that lived here, because Lance had never seen the man before. He’d remember that face for next time though, that was for sure.

Stepping into the lifts, he grimaced at the smell. It was kind of rank. But he had too many heavy things in his arms to take the stairs, so smelling the rank was the way to go. Hopefully they aerate the god damn lifts soon.

His thoughts instead returned to Keith, like they usually did, and his plan to cook the perfect cheer up cookies. Stepping out of the lifts, he hadn’t expected Keith to be there. Allura had told him that Keith was going to spend the night in the hospital due to some check ups’ – she _still_ wasn’t telling him what was up, but he decided he’d rather hear it from Keith instead – so he was surprised when he saw the door to Keith’s apartment opened slightly.

Had Keith come home already?

Nah, that couldn’t be right.

Taking slow steps, he noticed the rank smell was coming from Pidge’s apartment right in front of the lifts. That little gremlin must have been working on something and had left it out or something. He really hoped it wasn’t something toxic or noxious.

He didn’t want what happened last time to happen again, thinking about the accidental gas leak made his stomach turn. They had spent the most of two weeks in motels while the apartment building was fumigated.

If Keith was home, then maybe Lance could call him over now, he’d show hottie his culinary prowess, maybe they could have an impromptu food fight that led to some nice making out – yeah, so he was skipping a few steps in between, he knew that. But these past few years felt like foreplay for them both, – but he decided against that when he saw that the door had been busted open.

Oh god.

Keith had been robbed!

Lance placed his bag and things down in front of his door and turned to Keith’s door, pushing it open a little, hoping to see that nothing had been taken. The door opened with an ominous creak, and Lance got a look inside. Everything was trashed, from the sofa cushions being haphazardly thrown about the place, the coffee table upturned, the dining table chairs were on their backs, and books and things were on the ground, strewn as if they had been dragged from the shelves themselves. He gasped when he saw the window being smashed,

Oh god, _oh god! What if Keith had been home?_ Lance was losing his mind. What if Keith had been home? He was already so sickly looking, and with his frequent visits to the hospital, there was probably something wrong with him, something that would most likely make him weak.

Oh, oh, if he had been home…Lance couldn’t bear to think of what he would have come across. But _where_ was Keith? Oh god, what if whoever had done this had taken him? What if…

Wait. No Lance. Keith was still in the hospital, safe.

Lance closed the door to the apartment, not being able to take the mess inside – though his mind was clearly showing him gruesome images of Keith on the ground, in a pool of his own blood, like he needed _that_ visual – and that was when he heard the lifts ding.

He instinctively knew it was Keith, and when he saw that mullet of dark hair, he vaulted from the door and into Keith’s arms. He just _had_ to see Keith, he just had to touch him and know he was okay. He was alright.

“Oh my god,” Lance cried, finally able to see that Keith was okay, he wrapped the shorter man in his arms, tightening his grip. “Thank _god_ you’re okay!”

He let himself breath in Keith’s scent, taking in the lovely woodiness of him, like crackling firewood, so warm and calming. But he had a sting of medicine and hospital on him too, and that made Lance frown.

His poor Ke—eeith!

 _What the hell?_ Lance held back the small shriek that had threatened to escape his lips when he felt Keith’s hot hands spread along his back, tucking under his shirt and digging into his muscles. Oh god in heaven, whatever had come into his lovely little neighbour, Lance really didn’t want him to stop.

His hands were like a hot brand on Lance’s back, moving up, fingers spreading to take in all of him. His head was resting on Lance’s chest, and Lance almost melted at the scent of apple coming from his _so soft_ hair.

He didn’t question why this was happening, but he had noticed Shiro and Pidge and Hunk standing on the other end of the hallway, watching them intently, like hawks.

“Not that I’m not happy about this,” Lance murmured, really regretting what he was about to say next. He didn’t want Keith to go away from him. “But maybe not when there are people watching,”

Lance felt the loss of Keith like a limb had separated from him, and he grimaced when he saw Keith fall through his door and onto the ground. He reached a hand down to help Keith up, though in reality he just wanted to touch Keith more.

Keith’s fingers laced with his own, and my god, who knew holding someone’s hand, could make him so _giddy!_ But his grip tightened when Keith looked around his house. He wanted to tell Keith that he was there.

 

Keith stepped into his home, letting out a thick breath.

**_Couldn’t think to clean up, Keithy?_ **

“This isn’t how it usually looks,” he cried to Venom, holding a hand to his head. He looked around, trying to figure out if anything had been stolen. There didn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary, other than the overturned furniture and the mess. The television was still there, Keith’s music players and all his usual gadgets were around the house.

 ** _I don’t think they found what they were looking for,_** Venom stated, forcing Keith to look at the window. It had been smashed from the _inside_ out. So whoever it was had come in from the door and left through the window.

 _Why?_ It wasn’t like Keith had anything in his home that was worth stealing. Everything was old. His only pride and joy was his bike, and he had spotted that when Shiro had parked the car downstairs. It was still there, sitting proudly. Whatever this person had wanted, he had either found it and gone, or he was going to be back later.

“Uh, guys,” Pidge’s voice came from the other side of the room. “I think we’ve got a problem,”

She motioned for the others to follow her to her own room. It too was completely trashed, and for a moment Keith wondered if Lance’s apartment was in the same state. But his door didn’t look like it had been kicked in like his and Pidge’s doors had been.

Pidge stood at her desk, where there was one desk with two screens on it, both of them were on. But what shocked him was on one screen, there was a short paused clip of Pidge and Hunk in a glass room. Pidge was holding onto the flask the sentient coffee had come out of. He saw the senti— ** _VENOM!_** – Venom mid jumping into the flask. The other screen had a word document open, with the words ‘I know what you did’ written, followed by the letter ‘K’.

**_Oh no…_ **

They were after Venom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, duuuuun.  
> Just WHO is this K?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of info, bit of anxiety...bit more crunch before we get to the gooey Klancy centre.
> 
> FYI, I will be doing Nanowrimo this year too, on an original story, if you're interested. I will be putting original stories up here alongside my fics, so if you're interested at all, please give me a shout, or ...read them if you want!

“Who the hell is ‘K’?”

Pidge leaned in close to the image of her and Hunk and the symbiote on the screen, hoping and wishing she were able to figure out just who would have done something like this. It was difficult to see anything other than them, and the person was very clever to do everything on a computer, rather than written hands. There was nothing to show just who this person could be.

Clever man.

“How should I know?” Hunk asked, anxiety marring his pretty face. He was shaking with the fear of getting caught. “Oh god, Pidge, someone knows! What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know!” Pidge cried, mirroring his worry, biting at her nails. Her eyes widening she thought through the past few hours. “Oh god, Hunk, how could you let this happen?”

“Me?” Hunk’s eyes widened in shock at her accusation. “You were the one who went in there with me, why am I the only one to blame?”

Pidge waved her arms, body shuddering as she tried to think up of a solution. This couldn’t be happening! She had made sure everything was perfect before they implemented the plan. How could this have happened? “You said you had taken care of all the cameras!”

“Yeah, but I didn’t think there was a camera inside the isolation chambers!” Hunk cried, pointing a finger at Pidge. “It was supposed to be a clean room, no bugs, no camera, nothing!”

Pidge’s shoulders drooped as she sighed; there was no point in blaming each other. They both hadn’t done anything that could warrant this. They hadn’t known this would happen either. They had no one to blame other than this ‘K’ character.

“No one else has access to the lower laboratory, other than our team,” Hunk stated, holding a hand to his chin, deep in thought. “So ‘K’ has to be one of us, right?”

“Could it be a guard?” Lance piped in, and for a moment both Pidge and Hunk had even forgotten they were there. But looking up showed that the other three were just watching them, just as shocked and worried as they were.

“No, no.” Hunk answered, turning his shoulder out so he could include the others in the conversation as well. “The…the footage, and the camera’s for the lower labs,” he tried to explain, reaching into his breast pocket to pull out his badge. “I needed to swipe a higher access card to get into it.” He mimicked swiping the card by flailing it up and down. Shiro cocked an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything. “And _I_ didn’t even know about the isolation camera, so _no one should._ It wasn’t exactly broadcasted everywhere. So the guards, they don’t have access to it.”

Pidge let out a breath, body slumping in her exhaustion. “Maybe this is…Dr. Zarkon, or his lackey?”

“No, it can’t be,” Hunk replied so confidently, that it took Pidge by surprise. “They wouldn’t threaten us like this,” – he pointed at the screen for emphasis – “Zarkon seems more like the kind of person who’d bring us in front of everyone and make an example of us. It _can’t_ be them.” Hunk’s eyes widened. “Oh god. Maybe they’ve put a hit on us?”

Pidge shook her head, starting to pace the room, pushing things around as she did so, trying to clean up where she could. “We can’t panic. We’ve got to stay calm,”

“They came to your house,” Hunk yelled, raising his arms to the mess she and the others had started cleaning – though it was more the others were just picking things up from the floor and placing them on the tables and fixing the upturned furniture. “They trashed the place, Pidge. This is the perfect time to panic,”

Shiro stepped forward then, being the oldest and the most mature – though he’d definitely not think that all the time – he placed a hand on Hunk’s shoulder, placating him. “Look, let’s think about this calmly and rationally.” he started, turning to Pidge and the others as he continued to speak, “Staying here is only making us all more anxious. Lance,” – Lance peered up at his name being called. “Is your apartment okay?”

Lance looked away, his grip tightening on Keith’s hand – yeah, he wasn’t about to let it go that easily. He could feel Keith trembling; he needed to be there for his neighbour. “I don’t…yeah, I think so,”

“Good,” Shiro stated, he then motioned for them to leave the apartment, carefully and calmly. “Now we’re all going to go to Lance’s place, and we’re going to think about what to do next.”

Slowly, one by one they all left the trashed apartment, passing Keith’s own trashed apartment and headed into Lance’s home. Lance struggled with the key, slotting it in and picking up his things from the ground. He was thankful that his apartment was exactly the way he left it – a little messy, but nothing compared to the others.

Lance was quick to go to the kitchen, with Keith in tow, and made them all some tea to drink. They all looked like they needed something much stronger, but tea would do nicely to calm their nerves. He leaned against the counter, waiting for the kettle to boil, but one thought was running through his mind. He just had to know the answer of.

“What exactly is happening?”

 

Keith had felt the loss of heat when Lance dropped his grip to open the door. Though he was happy to finally get inside Lance’s home after wishing for it for such a long time, but right now he wished it were for different reasons.

**_Oooh, Lancey’s house smells just like Lancey,_** Venom’s voice was a reminder of just how fucked up his life was getting. But instead of being an annoying reminder, Keith was quite easily getting used to the alien in his head. He blamed it on adrenaline.

Being alone in the kitchen with him only made Keith’s heart beat race. He knew this was the wrong time to be thinking of something like this. After all, he had pretty much almost been robbed; someone had come into his and Pidge’s home and destroyed everything. There was a wide hole in the middle of his wall.

But Venom had finally given Keith the courage to talk to Lance – though he hadn’t really _spoken_ to Lance.

 

“What exactly is happening?” He heard Lance say, watching as his gorgeous body leaned heavily against the counter – and Venom was of no help, showing him images of just what they could do to Lance on that counter – he instead ignored the clearly R-rated thoughts racing through his shared brain and focused on Lance’s voice. “None of answered just why _your_ place was trashed, I get that this ‘K’ person saw Pidge and Hunk, but…why _you?_ ”

Keith leaned away, unsure whether he should tell Lance just what was inside him. He barely had a shot with Lance, and though this was all fantastical for him, he knew that when push came to shove, it would be Lance doing the pushing and the shoving as he’d run away from Keith, screaming bloody murder.

Keith was damn sure of it. Who’d want a fucked up guy who was about to die, and who had a sentient alien in his head that could hear his thoughts and speak to him and him alone?

“Because that black thing that you saw in the footage,” Pidge’s voice came from the doorway. The two turned to see her standing there, looking pensive. “It’s a symbiote and its’ inside Keith,”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Run that by me again,”

“Look, the company we work for, Galra Tech?” Lance nodded, even though he already knew, he could see the company logo on Pidge’s white coat. “Well my boss, Dr. Zarkon found an alien race on an asteroid just outside the galaxy,” – she said this slowly, taking her time to explain it to him so he understood. Yes, aliens are real, and no they don’t look like ET for one thing. “He wanted to fuse the aliens with humans, and _we_ thought it was because he wanted to learn about them.”

“But you were wrong,” Lance answered for her. “The symbiote –“

“Venom,” Keith piped in. “The uh…he likes to be called Venom,” he looked away, a faint blush on his cheeks. **_Our Lancey can call me Ven too, Keithy,_** “Or Ven,”

“Right. _Venom._ ” Pidge took over. “He was one of the few that survived the journey to Earth. But he can’t live without a host,”

The two turned to Keith; he could see the wheels turning in Lance’s head. He really wished he wasn’t such a screw up, such a loser. And now he was a weirdo on top of that. _Just great._ “Y-yeah, so he chose me…because he said I was compatible,”

“He hunted you down,” Pidge added.

Keith could _feel_ the smug grin on Venom’s face; he thought his hunting was a job well done. He really didn’t understand just what he had done to Keith’s life. Hell neither did Keith!

Lance crossed his arms over his chest, looking at Keith accusingly. “What were you doing in Galra Tech? Allura said you were at the hospital,”

“I…I was…” Keith sounded flustered, but then paused. “Wait, have you been keeping tabs on me?” He held back a fond smirk when he saw the bright red burst on Lance’s cheeks. Maybe…maybe Lance liked him too? **_That boy wants us Keithy; I can smell it on him._** Ignoring Venom and his ludicrous thoughts – **_not ludicrous! I’m being serious! –_** Keith continued. “I _was_ at the hospital, but Venom found me.”

Lance’s eyes narrowed, giving Keith a once over that made him shudder. “When the hell did this happen?”

Pidge glanced at her watch. “About….forty five minutes ago,”

Lance clucked his tongue, turning as the kettle tinged, and started pouring water into the teabag filled mugs. “So…this ‘K’ person…how does he know the symbiote is _inside_ Keith?”

Keith’s eyes widened. “He….he shouldn’t…”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween!  
> Hope you all have a great time today! I know I did, I dressed up as Noctis from Final Fantasy XV and I went out to the city and went shopping!

Lance knows.

Lance knows.

Oh my god, _Lance knows._

**_He’s still here._ **

Yeah, he was wasn’t he? In fact, Lance had taken his arm, ushered him into the living room with the others and hand handed him a how cup of tea. He handed everyone else a mug too, before sitting down next to Keith, letting out a breath as he listened to what the others were saying.

**_Keithy…Ven wants!_ **

_Keith wants to, Venom. But we cannot have._ There was definitely something wrong with him if he was talking to the symbiotic alien in his head as if he were his own conscious. Then again, when was he ever actually ‘normal’ in that sense?

He couldn’t even think about anything other than the heat that was coming through the places Lance was touching him. Their thighs so close, almost touching, knees knocking every time Lance shifted a little over. His arms on his thighs, holding the mug in his hands, body leaning forward a bit, similar to the way Keith’s was.

Oh, it was difficult to think of anything other than his scent too, the way it seemed to permeate the air around him, like an aura, it made Keith want to duck his head into the curve of Lance’s throat and take in a lung full of it.

**_He’s right there Keithy and I know you want him._ **

Venom needed to stop. So ingrained in his head by now that he was showing Keith all sorts of fantasies, of images and such naughty, naughty things he and Lance could do on the sofa, against the coffee table, on the floor, up against the wall. His cheeks burst a bright red in his embarrassment and he coughed to try and shut Venom up.

But the symbiote smirked smugly, if that was even possible, and Keith could feel those teeth against his own, making him smirk in a way. He shook his head, trying to force the alien back once again, but with every moment that was passing, Venom was getting more and more engrained into his mind, settling himself in nicely.

Venom was driving him insane. Sparking up all sorts of thoughts that Keith usually left to wonder about in the middle of the night, when he was safe in his home, in his bed, away from onlookers. **_I wonder how he tastes…got to be all salty and sweet…his skin looks like caramel, Keithy…I want to take a lick of that lollipop._**

“Will you just quit it?” Keith cried, placing his tea mug onto the table and standing up. He pressed his hands to his head and tried to hide the flush from his face. Was it not enough that Keith had to be sitting next to the man that Venom was torturing his mind with? “Do you get your rocks off acting like this? Am I just a game to you?”

He felt the heat of Lance’s hand heavy on his arm, squeezing at his muscles and dragging him back down. He handed Keith the tea mug, motioning for him to drink. Keith looked down to the mug, grimacing that even _this_ looked similar to Lance’s pretty skin, and Venom’s taunts were getting worse and worse.

**_Lancey is so caring…want to push him down and fuck him._ **

Keith had half the mind to listen to the alien. But instead he focused on the drink; taking a sip he let the warmth coat him like a blanket, warming him from the insides. There was some kind of spice to this tea, something different than the usual dregs of tea or coffee Keith usually drank. Maybe cinnamon, or something, it was sweet but nice at the same— ** _don’t ignore me Keithy! Venn doesn’t like it!_**

Keith gasped when he felt the tightness grip at his heart, it felt like he was having a heart attack. His breathing came up short, and his chest ached as if someone had sliced straight through it. He thudded his chest, trying to force Venom to stop. But the alien wasn’t listening to reason, he retaliated instead with a sharp pin like needle pressing into the tumour part of Keith’s brain, where Venom had come in from. His head was swimming in pain, vision blurring as he bit back a scream of pain. Oh god. Hurts! He felt like he was dying! He whimpered and dropped his body down until his head pressed up against his knees, dropping the cup from his hand as he wrapped his arms around his chest, tried squeezing the pain away.

“I’m sorry okay,” He cried into his knees, the grip loosened just a little, almost enough for Keith to think he was out of danger, but he could still feel like, like actual hands holding his heart captive, like thin claw tips digging into his brain. “I won’t do it again, see? I’m right here, _I’m right here,_ ”

The pain subsided completely, until there was nothing but soothing warmth taking him over, like the feeling one would get when their parents or guardians kissed the pain away.

**_I’m sorry Keithy…_ **

“You okay?” Lance’s voice was like a light in the fog, calling him to the haze that was reality. He nodded, holding a hand to his chest, taking in deep breaths.

“He doesn’t like me ignoring him,” he answered through bated breaths, looking up into those amazing deep blue ocean like eyes. God, he’d never get used to having that gaze looking at him, actually paying attention to him. Lance’s hand on his knee was such a distraction. He looked down to the mess he had created, seeing that thankfully the mug had been saved from the fall, and a majority of the tea was still inside the cup, splashes having fallen onto the carpet here and there. “I’m sorry about the tea…”

Lance shook his head. He frowned when he heard Pidge and Hunk talking quietly amongst themselves, definitely hearing the words ‘progressed’ and ‘bonding’. Whatever the hell was happening, he was going to get to the bottom of this, for Keith’s sake.

“I think you should get some rest,” Lance replied clearly, not taking no for an answer. Keith frowned, not really wanting to leave the group just yet. This was the most in social situations as he had ever gotten. And to end it all now, to leave Lance right now, felt a little…bad.

He was such a loser.

Lance took his arm – Keith still wasn’t used to Lance touching him so casually and so frequently – and motioned for him to follow. Keith sighed and nodded, letting the gorgeous man take him to most likely his own apartment. Keith was going to have to clean, wasn’t he?

Damn. He was still starving.

But exhaustion was winning, maybe he’d just find his bed, hope it hadn’t been trashed too, and just sleep on the clutter and destruction. Yeah, that sounded good.

What he didn’t expect was for Lance to lead him to his bedroom, opening the door and leading him to his bed. He faltered, flustered at being in _Lance’s room, hello! This is Lance’s room! **Oh, I wonder what Lancey gets up to while he’s here, all alone…in the middle of the night –** Not helping Venom! _

Lance tugged at the sheets and blankets, and motioned for Keith to sit down.

Keith smirked. “Are you always this bossy?” He asked, his eyes widening at just what he said moments after he had said it. Shit, he wasn’t supposed to say that out loud!

Lance paused, looking like a deer caught in headlights, before he settled into a teasing smirk. “Only when I have to be.”

**_Venom likes him, Keithy, let me have him._ **

“No Ven, Lance is mine,” Keith said simply, knowing it was best not to ignore the alien. He had almost killed him before, and knowing it was so easy for the alien to do that in a mini temper, he wondered just what the alien could do if he were really angry at Keith.

“I’m yours, huh?” Lance teased, though his cheeks were a bright and pretty pink.

Keith flustered, trying to speak through choked words, but nothing came out. His heart beating rapidly in his chest, he instead just took the blankets, toed off his shoes and socks, and got into Lance’s bed. Maybe a nap would make him stop thinking like this.

Lance chuckled, and Keith found that sound so wonderful. Lance suddenly gasped, holding his hands to his mouth as he looked down behind him. Keith’s eyes widened when he felt firm skin against his hands. _Oh god, Venom, no!_ Looking down to his hands, he saw that they were extended, the same black starry sludge that made Venom stretching from his fingers like thick tendrils, all the way to Lance’s ass, fondling it in a way that brought a blush to both his and Lance’s faces.

Keith’s eyes widened and he forced his hand back. “I am so sorry,”

“I’m gonna…” Lance stumbled back, almost tumbling into his dressed chair in his wake. He straightened the chair with shaking fingers, “Yeah…goodnight Keith…Venom –uh, yeah.”

He watched, cheeks burning, as Lance left him in the room, switching off the light and closing the door behind him. Leaving Keith inside, alone, in Lance’s bed, in Lance’s covers. He was going to put the weird tendrils and the fact that Venom could move him without prompting to the side for now, exhaustion was taking him over.

 _What the hell Venom!_ he reprimanded instead.

**_Hot ass. Felt nice. He smells good too._ **

Keith fell into temptation, turning his head to the side and taking in a deep breath of Lance’s wonderful scent, letting out a small moan when the rain and sandy scent took him over. Damn Venom for being right about that.

**_Keithy…_ **

_Yes Venom._ Keith took a moment to himself, taking in deep, measured breaths and allowing his mind to catch up to the day. Alright, Keith. There is an alien in your head, who will not leave you alone. He had become part of you. He can talk to you, hear your thoughts and answer you, and only you.

Keith wondered just what else Venom could do.

**_We could do so much to Lancey here, Keithy._ **

Other than that.

“Look Venom, we’ve got to lay down some rules here,” Keith started, looking up at the speckled ceiling that made Lance’s room. He quickly spanned his gaze to the room itself, though it was hard to see anything in the dark, he did remember seeing a desk filled with all sorts of pictures, a laptop, a few notepads and a few other desk things. A dresser on the other side, just by the window, with all sorts of creams and lotion bottles on its top, a cupboard next to that, closed.

He also noticed that the sheets he was in seemed fresh, like Lance had _just_ changed them. He knew that wasn’t possible, so that fresh scent was definitely a part of Lance. And it made his insides squirm. _He was in Lance’s room!_

**_Lay these rules on me, Keithy, because I am not leaving._ **


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments and kudos to this fic.  
> I am so freakin' happy you all like it so much so far~!
> 
> Now just a warning, I am doing Nanowrimo this year (as I do every year) so I may not be able to keep up with the same amount of chapter lengths as I do. I will still maintain daily updates, but just be weary.
> 
> Now, with that out of the way.  
> Let's get this show on the road.

Dr. Zarkon looked back at the schematics of the last bonding sequence they had done, the screen in his hand was heavy, but he didn’t mind it.

Swiping his fingers along the screen, he smiled gleefully at the results showing, the numbers all holding a healthy green glow on his face. The numbers themselves were sporadic at best; he could see that the symbiote was a bit of a wild one. That and the human subjects he had exposed it too, their overall health had teetered quickly from being healthy, to being destroyed completely by the symbiote itself.

But this one had lasted longer than most.

He had spoken words low and barely heard by anyone that wasn’t close enough, but he knew the symbiote had created a link with someone who wasn’t one hundred percent compatible with it. That meant that forging a symbiote and human contact and bond was possible.

He didn’t have to worry about sourcing and growing and nurturing humans to fit around the symbiote when he could clearly see the symbiote was ready and able to take over any human.

The one he had was just exceptionally picky it seemed. But no worries, Zarkon would make that malleable piece of tar work for his bidding. He believed shock therapy could work, it had on many others, why not the alien. It always seemed so subdued when it was shocked back into its cage.

And when Zarkon had made it submit and follow, he was going to build his army. It was going to be perfect.

And _this_ was the result Zarkon was waiting for. He held the tablet close to his chest, making his way along the corridors and down to the lower labs. He had to see his alien, needed to look into its black tar like substance body and picture the future. It was going to be everything he could ever want. He knew he was close, he could almost taste it. He was going to take over the world with his symbiote. He was going to take the malleable presence and morph it into something much greater.

And when he figured out the full capabilities and strengths of this odd symbiote race, he was going to go back up into that asteroid, get many more of those sickly looking creatures, tame them, weaponise them and sell them to the highest bidder. _Yes._ He was going to play a giant part in the future of weapons of colossal destruction.

And then, when the world was completely destroyed, thanks to his symbiote army and the very dear asshole leaders of the free and unfree worlds. He would come out of the ashes like a phoenix with a symbiote superpower to help the citizens of Earth, and gain so much fame and glory. The people would adore him, revere him, and fear him, and then he would be the ruler of the planet.

Swiping his card into the lock at the door, he nodded to the other early morning scientists and workers in the laboratory, all getting ready for the long day ahead. Only a few of the lights were on, and the machines were starting to steadily whir on as they were turned on.

He made his way over to the isolation chambers, pressing a hand against the darkened glass, his symbiote pet liked the darkness when it was night time, it surprisingly was more human like than Zarkon gave it credit for.

The lights were slow to turn on, flashing a few times before the beacons beamed bright. He smiled, taking in the bright lights above him and looked down to the small chamber that housed his symbiote.

His eyes widened, no. That can’t be right. “Open the door,”

One of the scientists by the door looked up at him, confused at his command. But he listened to his boss and made for his tablet, opening the door to the chamber remotely. Zarkon nodded, motioning for him to go inside.

“But sir,” the man started, but he was silence by Zarkon once again.

With a gulp, the man walked into the glass chamber, gasping when the door automatically closed behind him. Looking up, he saw Zarkon holding his finger to the tablet in his hands, to the door release button.

“Go closer to the chamber,” he commanded.

The man gulped once again, his body shuddering. He had been watching intently when every single human that had walked passed these doors and into this very room had all died a horrible and gruesome death.

Oh god, what if he was next?

Why was Zarkon doing this to him? Had he found out about his affair? He didn’t mean to screw that receptionist last night, but she wanted it, and he wasn’t one to say no.

 “Sir…” he pleaded one last time.

Zarkon’s gaze was dark, his frown solid on his lips. “Do not make me repeat myself,”

He took tentative steps closer towards the chamber. The boss just told him to look, he wasn’t going to like meet the thing; neither was that thing going to come out of there. He was safe – ish – for now. Just look inside at the thing, tell his boss it was still there, and then run out of that hellish glass room screaming bloody murder.

Yeah. He tiptoed up and peered into the small chamber that housed the thing, and his eyes widened. Nah, that couldn’t be right. Taking a few steps closer, he noticed that his initial reaction had been right.

“Boss, it’s not in there,” he called out, peering from one side to the other, just in case the symbiote was hiding in the corners. But no, it was completely empty.

The chamber hissed open, the glass lid sliding to one side. His eyes widened and he stumbled back onto the grated and concrete floor. He cried for his boss to stop, but he knew Zarkon had turned the tannoy off, he couldn’t hear his screams for this to stop.

He scrambled back until his back his the glass wall, and curled in on himself, clenching his eyes shut and hiding his face away, he waited for the monster to eat him. He sat there, for what seemed like hours, but had been mere seconds. Nothing was happening.

Looking up, he saw that the chamber was indeed empty.

What?

 

Zarkon’s eyes widened in shock, and then narrowed into angry slits. It was empty. The fucking chamber was empty. Where the hell had his alien gone?

He reached for the nearest worker, dragging him close to his body and lifting him up in the air a little. The scientist gasped for hair, tugging at his hands in an attempt to get him to stop.

“Where is it?” Zarkon asked, turning his steely eyes down to the man.

The scientist shook his head, muttering and mumbling his ‘I don’t knows’. Zarkon knew he wasn’t going to get far with him, so he dropped him unceremoniously onto the ground. He turned, sweeping his arms up and calling everyone’s attention.

“Find my alien, _right now!”_

Keith awoke with a start, hearing a sharp hissing noise at the back of his head.

Where the he— _oh._

Last night rushed into him all at once and his skin glowered with an embarrassing red. He was sleeping in _Lance’s bed!_ Pulling the covers over his body, and over his head, he took in the sweet scent of the sea and sand, smirking when he could scent himself in the sheets. _Oh, this was so good._

The hissing sound erupted by the back of head, startling him from his thoughts. He turned his head, expecting to see someone there, but there was nothing. The hissing sound came again and he turned his head the other way.

Where was that sou—he almost lost his life when he saw the black star like head laying on the pillow by his face, leaning up against his chest. The face was large in its sleep, eyes big and white and almost triangular in shape, and his mouth _gods,_ Keith knew Venom had teeth, he could almost intrinsically feel them whenever Venom smiled or smirked, but the teeth were fanged, jagged and so sharp looking, a set of three like a sharks, and he had a long thin tongue that had come out and was lying in a curl by Keith‘s head. The head was attached to a large tendril that snaked around Keith’s shoulders and to the back of his head, where Keith _knew_ he was still inside him.

_Holy crap!_ That thing was inside him!

He could feel the hot breath coming from the alien, followed by the soft hissing sound. _Oh my god Ven, are you snoring?_

Now that he knew what the sound was, he found it to be surprisingly cute. A scary alien who could kill him and others without thinking, and had the raunchiest and most perverted mind Keith had ever seen – the _dreams_ they shared, featuring a certain Cuban neighbour, _oh my god,_ they’d made a porn star blush! – and he was here, snoring in his mind like some adorable little hissing kitten.

**_I am not a kitten, akri Keithy._ **

The sudden sound of his voice startled Keith a little, but he let himself lay back into that blissful moment between waking and sleeping. He knew he was still probably in shock with all of this, especially now that he could _see_ just how scary Venom actually looked. _Oh god, what if Lance came in now and saw them like this?_

“What does akri mean?” he asked trying to change the subject from his abysmal love life. Akri…that wasn’t a word he knew. But he had heard Venom call him that before, maybe it meant something like host, or body, or vessel.

**_Akri means my own,_** Venom mumbled, still in light sleep.

_What? My own?_ He felt heat sink into his skin, his cheeks bursting a bright pink at the thought of being Venom’s own. Did he just mean he was Venom’s compatible body, or was it something much more sinister? What exactly was happening?

**_Don’t think so much; sleep a bit more Keithy…_** Venom continued, smacking his fanged lips as he did so. The sight made Keith shudder. **_Lancey is making us foods, and Venn wants bacon._**

Keith rolled his eyes, taking one long look at the sleeping head next to him. That was a sight that was going to haunt his every waking and sleeping moment – not unless Venom filtered his dreams and focused them instead on him and Lance and…oh god, he remembered a shower in there somewhere.

If the gorgeous Lance wasn’t going to kill him, then Venom surely would. But before his untimely demise, he was going to get to the bottom of this. And he knew just the scientists to talk to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm...so Zarkon is not K...
> 
> Any takers on who it is?


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go...

Bacon was definitely not the first thing on Keith’s mind when he and his symbiote companion in his head padded out of Lance’s bedroom and into the kitchen.

Lance was standing by the stove, holding a spatula in his hands as he moved to the music playing in the small music player on the windowsill. His body moved with such grace, such poise, hips swaying this way and that as he bounced to the beat. His voice was a beautiful low rumble, trying to be quiet as he sand the lilting lyrics to the song playing – some Spanish song. The scent of bacon was overpowering, filling his nose and warming his heart.

It was so lovely to watch, Lance was so charming.

**_Sexy man, come over here and shake that thing!_ **

Venom’s voice frightened him, made him remember just where he was, and what had happened to him. He took in a deep breath, letting the long list of things the symbiote was saying rush over him. He knew not to ignore the alien, lest he hurt him.

**_Look at the way he flips that bacon, it’s like he’s asking to be fucked._ **

“Ven, it’s like eight in the morning,” Keith hissed through clenched teeth. “Can we not with that kind of talk?”

“What kind of talk?” Lance asked, turning around and pointing the spatula at Keith. A thick string of starry black tendrils zipped out from Keith’s fingers, overtaking his arm and stretching out towards Lance, wrapping around his waist and dragging him from his waist, until he crashed into Keith’s chest, arms wrapping around Lance’s body, tendrils morphing back into his hands.

Keith’s hands were hot as they spread over Lance’s back, like a brand on his skin. Lance glanced up at him and his eyes widened. Keith was no longer just Keith. The sides of his face had been swallowed up by the big, black star like tendrils that had pulled him in, spider like tendrils slipping from the sides and to the corners of his eyes, turning them a yellowing white, irises still that beautiful purple Keith had.

He wasn’t so much as frightening, as he was shocking. When Lance had first heard that there was something inside Keith, _an alien of all things,_ Lance had been so vehement about it all. It couldn’t be true, could it? That kind of thing only happened in cartoons and comics.

Yet when he saw the tendrils grope his ass, the thick black star like thing that came out of Keith’s arm itself, he was starting to have second thoughts. But now, seeing this black thing almost engulf the back of Keith’s face, of him speaking as if he _were_ Keith, he was sure that the alien was in his neighbour.

And he seemed to have taken a shine to Lance. Though, Lance _had_ wished Keith had done this _before_ the alien abducted his brain. But then again, beggars can’t be choosers.

“ ** _This kind of talk, Lancey,”_** Venom spoke through Keith, his smile wide, eyes filled with lust as he gripped tightly on Lance’s waist, pulling him closer and closer until they were pressed chest to chest, thigh to thigh.

“You’re Venom, right?” Lance asked, his eyes widened and filled with fear and curiosity. “Are you hurting Keith?”

Venom, still in Keith’s body, pressed his head into the curve of Lance’s neck, sucking in his scent, lips pressed against his skin.

**_“You want me to hurt him?”_** Venom breathed into Lance’s neck, mouth moving against his skin, making Lance shudder.

“I’d rather you don’t.” Lance tried, still not fully believing he was speaking to an alien of all things. But it was right there, talking to him, looking at him with Keith’s eyes.

He looked confused, **_“Would you be upset?”_**

Lance figured out there and then that Venom was only trying to learn their ways. He was like a child, curious of the world and its misgivings. He _was_ an alien after all. Maybe where he came from, pain was natural to him. Maybe pain was the only thing he knew. He looked large, and strong and scary; maybe he was built to be that way.

“Yes. I’d be very upset if you hurt my Keith,” Lance said slowly, pressing his hands to Keith’s shoulders in an attempt to push the man away.

Venom nodded his smirk wide – so much wider than Lance had ever seen Keith smile before – and he let go of Lance, his tendrils moving him back to the stove.

**_“We’re hungry,”_** He said to Lance, handing him the spatula he had dropped in his quick zip into Keith’s arms. **_“Make the bacon,”_**

“We say please, Venom,” Keith’s voice came out, making Lance turn to see Keith’s more sombre and solemn expression. Something Lance was used to seeing. “And thank you.”

Venom’s face contorted, long tongue sticking out from Keith’s lips, as he understood what he was being told. Just like a child taking in new information. **_“Please can the sexy man make us some bacon, thank you?”_**

“Venom, seriously!” Keith cried, his cheeks tinged a bright burst of red in his embarrassment. “I am so sorry, Lance,”

“Don’t be,” Lance said, turning to the stove in lieu of hiding his own blushing face. He really was starting to like this more open and flirting Keith, it made him think of a future where they were in love with one another, making breakfast and just being together. “Your sexy man will make you all the bacon you want,”

Well, his crush was now two separate people—beings, aliens…what? – but they were still just one person, still one Keith. Venom was the more feral of the two, relying on his basic instincts and going after what he wanted, whereas Keith was more of the usual human Lance knew him to be, shy and timid and oh so cute.

Lance wasn’t going to lie when he thought of Keith and Venom as the hottest thing to ever grave this planet. How could the man be both adorable as fuck and sexy as fuck? How?

And with the way Keith was looking at him, through his long, long lashes, his cheeks tinged pink and looking oh so cute. He knew Keith thought the same of him.


	14. Chapter 14

Venom hadn’t left to go back inside Keith, Lance noticed. He was still cupping the back of Keith’s head, like some kind of hood – huh, could Venom be considered as clothing? And if yes, would Lance get to see him in just Venom?

Where the hell were _his_ thoughts running to? Lance knew he was bisexual, what after seeing Keith, who was absolutely gorgeous and so _fucking cute!_ But seeing that black, scary thing taking over Keith, well…okay, so Lance was scared, like really scared of that alien inside his neighbour. But he knew it was _still Keith._

Venom was also quite forward; and rather funny – from what Lance had seen of him – and in the end, he was still Keith. And Lance loved Keith – he wasn’t afraid to admit that, their two year affair had grown from mere there like to full blown love – and with the way Keith was acting, _with Venom_ Lance knew he felt the same way.

So no, Lance was not going to let him go. And seeing Venom out and about, protecting Keith, looking after him – like Lance had told him to – it was making it easier for Lance to see that the alien wasn’t a threat.

Keith thought he knew how this was all going to go down. But he was dead wrong.

Munching on the bacon strips in the plate before him, having ravished through his own plate of delicious food, he looked up to see Lance sitting opposite him, nudging yet another plate of breakfast foods at him – scones this time, sliced in half and with butter inside – urging for him to eat.

He reached for it, his stomach still very much hungry for something. Food was the only option he had right now – the other option, which was sitting right in front of him, eating bacon strips with sticky syrup that seemed to stay at the corner of those pouty lips, little pert tongue reaching out to taste it **_now he’s definitely asking for it –_** not wanting to take what he couldn’t – even though the naughty images Venom was supplying his mind with were so realistic, and so easy to get – he reached for the scone and stuffed it in his mouth.

“Shiro was telling me about your situation,” Lance said suddenly, spreading a fruity smelling jam over his scone half, looking up at him as if _he_ was the one being spread thinly – Keith felt like he was, those eyes were devastating to his heart. “Why did you not think to tell me, I thought we were friends?”

“We’re friends?” Keith asked, head tilting to one side. He…didn’t know that.

Lance placed the knife down on his plate and gave Keith a droll stare, as if to say ‘duh, of course!’, he instead reached for a blueberry sitting on a bowl at the other side of the table, and popped it into his mouth, placing another on the scone itself.

“I’ll forgive you for that,” Lance continued, getting a few more pieces of fruit and piling them in a neat and very impressive line on his scone half. “After all, you’re going through so much,”

Keith nodded, nibbling at the edges of his food, trying to hide the pinkness of his cheeks and the small smile on his lips. Lance thought of him as a friend.

**_And friendship can lead to love, Keithy._ **

Venom was right; he hadn’t shied away from Keith and Venom’s advances so far. In fact, Lance had taken them in his stride, he looked like he was enjoying being manhandled by him – or was he just acting like that, and in fact he was screaming on the inside.

Oh god.

What if Lance was only trying to be hospitable, just because Keith was his neighbour who had been – he wanted to say abducted, but he went against it, because hell, Venom was already clenching his heart at the mere thought of that – and had been robbed – or whatever it was they had done to his apartment?

The breakfast was mere pretence, wasn’t it? He was just being a good neighbour.

Keith stood up suddenly, stuffing the rest of the scone in his mouth. He couldn’t do this to Lance of all people. His life was already in shambles enough as it was _without_ Venom eating away at his insides.

“I think I should go,” He mumbled through the bites. “I’ve overstayed my welcome,”

“Keith, no,” Lance stood up alongside him, holding onto his shoulders and manhandling him back onto the chair. He pushed the chair in so Keith was stuck to the table, and settled his hands harshly back onto his shoulders. “You’re not leaving, you heard what Pidge said, _they’re after you,”_

“I’ll go…somewhere,” Keith tried, fiddling with the edge of the table, pressing his fingers against the smooth wood. “Far away, I’ll find a shack in the desert and…and stay there,”

Lance chuckled a little behind him, the chuckles growing until he was full blown laughing, belly aching and back bending laughter. It was such a gorgeous sight to see.

“A shack? In the middle of a desert?” Lance repeated, before falling back into his sweet sounding laughter. Keith would have been pissed off if the sound and sight of him laughing wasn’t so breath taking.

 ** _He’s laughing…I like it._** Keith agreed with Venom.

“Oh no you don’t,” Lance said through gasping breaths as he came back from his giggling fit. “Now, Shiro said a few things about you, about your _condition,”_ Keith nodded, knowing there was no need to hide it any more. He didn’t know just _how much_ Shiro had told him, but it seemed Lance knew about his tumour and his low expectancy of life. “But, I also know that Venom is helping you, so we need to go to the hospital today to get you checked out,”

**_I’d like to check you out…_ **

“Not now Ven,” Keith grumbled to the symbiote.

Lance smiled, knowing pretty much exactly what the black alien wanted from him, what with the way he was _still_ wrapped around the back of Keith’s head.

“The hospital?” Keith looked up to him, eyes so bright against the Venom’s black skin. _Holy crap, grandma, what big eyes he has!_

“Y-yeah…” Lance nodded; he busied himself with picking up the empty plates and cutlery, shaking his head when Keith said he would do it. He gasped as he felt a black tendril sweep down his sides, and knocked his hip against it. “Keith, come on. I’m going to drop something,”

“I am so sorry!”

Lance didn’t have to look back to know Keith’s face was probably a bright red against the receding black. Keith was just too cute sometimes!

He placed the plates into the sink, quickly washing them, thinking about yesterday. He had heard so many awful things about his Keith, about the tumour that had come on so suddenly, about the surgeries and therapy he had to go through. And then this alien sitting in his head.

Hunk had told him that the symbiote was helping Keith, not hurting him. And after hearing from Venom himself that he wouldn’t hurt Keith – because _Lance_ had told him not to, which was all sorts of…well, he didn’t want to think about what that particular thing meant just yet, it’d only confuse him all the more – he couldn’t help but agree.

But Shiro had been adamant to get Keith checked out at the hospital, even going as far as to wake him up and take him there and then last night. Lance had stopped him however, Keith had looked so exhausted, so pale and frail, eyes sunken in, black bags under them, lips chapped a little, body just dragging to stay upright.

He had needed the rest, so Lance had told them that they would go to the hospital tomorrow, after Keith had been well rested and fed.”

“Lance,” Keith’s voice came from the other room, he sounded worried, and that alarmed Lance. “There’s someone at your door,”

Confused, Lance dried his hands and made his way to his front door. Peering through the peephole, he sucked in a breath when he saw two large men wearing suits on the other end. They looked hard, strong, and uncomfortable in those suits – they looked like thugs!

He motioned for Keith to stay back, pressing him up against the wall, so he would be hidden when Lance opened the front door. Keith looked at him weirdly, but nodded. Lance sucked in a brave breath and opened the door, putting on a cheery smile.

“How can I help?” he said brightly.

One of the men pulled at their collars and gave Lance a gruff look. The other man slapped him on the back of his head, leaning in closer to Lance.

“Do you know where Dr. Holt is?” he asked, thought his voice was rough.

Lance faked a confused look. He knew Pidge was bunking with Hunk that night after her apartment had been destroyed. But these men rubbed him the wrong way.

“I haven’t seen Dr. Holt since yesterday morning,” Lance answered slowly, taking his time to not seem apprehensive. These two were definitely thugs, what with the way they were acting so harsh. They definitely didn’t work in Galra Tech that was for sure. That meant they were here for Venom, they were here for _Keith!_ “Is she in trouble?”

“No trouble, sir.” The man said again, leaning in closer and peering behind Lance. “She’s just taken something that belongs to the company, we need it back.”

“Right, well, I’ll be sure to tell her you came when I see her,” Lance said quickly, pushing the door a little more. Shit, shit, shit! They knew, they fucking knew! What the hell was he supposed to do now?

The other man held a foot to the door, stopping Lance from closing it any more. “You see a Mr. Kogane about?”

Lance’s eyes widened, and he held back a squeak. How the _hell_ did they find out about Venom being inside Keith? Keith shouldn’t have been on this guys’ radar at all. From what Lance had heard, the alien had gotten inside Keith outside of the laboratory.

It must be because of that ‘K’ person!

“Uhh…no?” Fuck that sounded so suspicious! Lance took in a deep breath, forcing a smile on his face. “I don’t really know where he is, we don’t talk much,” – which wasn’t a lie, Keith always stuttered so cutely whenever they saw one another – “Where did you say you were from again?”

The man narrowed his gaze, his eyes darting this way and that. Lance thanked god he had already washed the dishes. It would have looked so suspicious if there had been two plates in a house only he lived in.

But Keith’s jacket was draped over the back of his sofa. And Lance _knew_ the man had seen it, what with the way his eyes widened and a smile crept on his face. He leaned back to the other man, whispering something in his ear. The other man’s eyes widened as he spotted the jacket as well.

Well, fuck.

He barely got a word out before Keith took the door from his grasp and slammed it over the man’s foot. He howled in pain, stumbling back and holding onto his injured foot.

“There he is!” The man said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a walkie talkie. Lance wanted to jump forward, to take the walkie away from him before he no doubt informed the others of what he had seen, or call them here. But Keith wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, dragging him back.

Keith stood in front of him, and Lance saw the way Venom emerged from the back of his head, slipping and sliding out from his body like water pouring out of a cup. It stretched out all over Keith, curling around him and fastening close to his body until Keith was no longer _just Keith and Venom_ anymore, this was purely all Venom.

His starry black body towered over the men, eyes triangular and white on his face, and mouth so wide, teeth so sharp, claws so thick, they looked like they could shred through anything. And Lance watched first hand as they swiped through the man still standing, slicing through his chest like warm butter, or candy floss. The man was dead before he even hit the floor. The other man on the ground screamed, scrambling back as much as his broken foot would let him, but Venom grabbed him, long arms reaching far, hands spanning his torso.

 ** _“Very bad man,”_** Venom said in his gravelly tone.

Lance’s eyes widened when he witnessed as Venom leaned down, mouth open wide, and yanked off his head. The sound was excruciating, a sickening plop and crunch as the alien ate his head and shoulders, before dropping him onto the ground.

 _Holy…fuck…_ He couldn’t keep his eyes off the giant alien as it receded back into Keith, waving sweetly at Lance as it retraced its steps, slipping back into Keith until he was just the hood behind Keith’s head.

He saw Keith drop to his knees, eyes wide, hands pressed to his face, nails digging into his skin. He looked up at Lance, his eyes filled with so much fear, his skin pale and white as a sheet. And then he screamed, such a thick, wet sound that echoed in Lance’s heart, grabbing at his hair, grabbing at Venom, tugging and pulling and screaming, and screaming and screaming.

Lance shook himself from his shock and got up, wrapping his arms around Keith and pulling the man into his lap, running his fingers through Keith’s hair and Venom’s head, soothing him with coos and murmurs as Keith’s screams died away into heart wrenching sobs and murmurs of ‘I killed them…I killed them’.

Holy fuck. What the hell were they supposed to do now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, this is where it's going to start to get a little...darker.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith needs all the hugs and kisses and love he can get.  
> Good thing Lance is there...though the poor boy is still in shock about everything.

Keith huddled as close to Lance’s warmth as possible.

Every time he closed his eyes, he could still see the frightened look on the thugs face as he loomed closer and closer to him. Keith felt the stretch of his mouth opened so wide, tongue tapering out, long and wet as he…as he _ate_ the man’s face. He almost hurled right there and then, still able to taste the sickly, meaty and salty bloodied mess that was the man’s head. _Oh god…oh fuck!_ The coppery, heated wetness of his blood, the salty stench of his hair, the crunch of the man’s bones giving way easily under his sharp teeth, that  would forever haunt his mind.

And the way he looked after Keith…no Venom, had bitten his head clean off. The body slumped to the poor excuse of a carpet in the hallway, body loose, shoulders slick with blood, a man without a head, just a bloodied stump for a neck.

Oh shit, he was going to feel sick.

How the hell was Lance so calm about all of this?

Burying his head into Lance’s chest, focusing on his heart beat thudding quickly in his ear, Keith’s tears and screams had subsided a little, he had been reduced to mumbles and short bursts of breath, hyperventilating away at the pain he had just inflicted on a poor _bad_ man. His body was still wrought with shivers and shakes as his memories assaulted him, tortured him.

“How could you do this Venom?” Keith cried, hands tightening around Lance’s lean and thick shoulders. Venom didn’t answer, but Keith knew he was there, pleased at the food he had eaten, and confused as to why Keith was acting like this.

This was normal for him. Keith noticed. In his planet it was eat or be eaten, the bad men were killed, no jail time, no trial, nothing. You did something bad, you were eaten. That was it. Though a small, miniscule part of Keith understood and agreed with Venom – bad men needed to be taken away – the larger, more pronounced part of him told him that this was wrong.

Justice should be left to the police. Not to ordinary citizen’s after all.

“It’s alright, babe,” Lance cooed at him, running his fingers through Keith’s hair. He patted him and Venom on the head, soothing him with his voice, his warmth, his body and his scent. Keith fell into him so easily, grabbing at him, fingers finding purchase of his skin under his clothes and basking in the smoothness of him. He didn’t want to think any more. “We’ve got to…look, we’ve got to go,”

Lance was right. They knew where he was now, and when whoever had sent these two goons to Lance’s place, they’d find out that the two had died such gruesome and horrible deaths and know Keith had been there, or worse, they’d assume it was _Lance_ who had Venom inside him.

No. Keith wouldn’t allow anything to happen to Lance.

He’d go to Shiro, find out how to get Venom out of him and then figure out how to get the alien back to his planet. And if for whatever reason Shiro wasn’t able to help him, then Keith was most definitely going to find that shack in the middle of the desert and spend the rest of his short, miserable life in insolation.

No more Lance…no more tater tots, no more French toast – oh, god he loved French toast. He was probably going to have to give that up. The thought of food right now was only bringing up the memories of what he had last eaten, and he really didn’t want to hurl all over his…all over Lance.

“Come on babe,” Lance said again, this time moving his arms under Keith’s armpits, raising him up. Keith stood, though he was a little woozy, still in shock.  Lance huffed, hugging Keith to his body and hefting him up to his feet. “A little help here Venom,”

As if on cue, thick black tendrils encased Keith’s feet, sliding up and engulfing the lower half of his body like a set of black tight pants and shoes. He looked like he was wearing spandex, and that sight was _doing things_ to Lance. Things that the Cuban _should not_ be thinking about right now…but Keith had a _perfect_ ass, all firm and round and—Lance, focus.

“Good,” Lance said, shaking himself from his thoughts. He ran Keith’s hand over his shoulder and held him close to his side. “Now, let’s do this slowly, right foot, left foot, that’s it,”

It was like teaching a baby to walk, it took a moment but Venom was able to move Keith, taking on his weight and making it so he quickened his pace. They made their way to the lifts and Lance was quick to press the button to the ground floor parking lot.

“I’m so sorry Lance,” Keith mumbled, face pressed up into the curve of his neck. “You shouldn’t have to…you shouldn’t be here…I put you in the middle of this mess,”

Lance ran his fingers through Keith’s hair again, hoping it was soothing him. “Don’t be. I’m glad it was me, I’d be so worried if I didn’t know what was happening,”

“You’re so perfect,” Keith’s muffled voice made Lance’s cheeks burst a bright red.

The lifts stopped a few floors down, on floor seven. The lift shuddered, and the doors slid open. Four large men stepped into the room, each in smart clothing. They nodded to Keith and Lance and stood on either side of them, cornering them.

The lifts closed. Lance turned to look at Keith, and Keith blanched, but nodded. He had to save Lance, if anything else. And if Venom had to kill and eat these men to do so…then so be it.

They waited as the lifts descended, the numbers at the top of the lifts counting down slowly. Keith held a breath as he heard the man behind him shift, reaching into his pocket for something. Venom was on high alert, and then, three floors later, the four men moved.

Keith shuffled Lance behind him, pressing him up to the back of the lifts. Venom slicked out of his arms, slamming into the two men before him. They hit the lifts with a loud clang, slumping to the ground. The two behind took Keith’s arms, holding him back. Keith growled at them, Venom’s tendrils stretching thin and wrapping around the man on his right body, lifting him up until he was flat on the ceiling and slamming him back onto the metal floor. The man grunted, groaning as he stilled. The other man on Keith’s right stabbed Keith with a knife, and Keith growled at him, the pain almost non-existent, he noticed.

It was Lance who elbowed him in the face, making the last man stumble back and hit the back of the lifts with a heavy and hard thud. He slumped to the ground with the others, unconscious.

**_Let’s eat their heads._ **

“No, Venom. We are _not_ going to eat more people,” Keith growled out, turning around and taking Lance’s shivering hands. “You okay?”

Lance nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith and holding him close. “You?”

Keith nodded his answer, wrapping his arms tighter around Lance, burying his face in the curve of Lance’s neck as the lifts continued their descent. One of the men groaned under them, and it was Lance who stomped on his body, making him groan back pitifully, but go back to being unconscious.

Keith chuckled. God, this was his life now, huh? He looked down into Lance’s eyes, seeing them shining with something he hadn’t expected. _Thrill and excitement._ Lance was _excited_ about everything that was happening. Though he was sure Lance had been scared about Keith eating the man upstairs, he actually looked thrilled, and so god damn beautiful.

He didn’t know what came over him – actually he did, those beautiful blue eyes, the flush of red on Lance’s cheeks, the way his hair was dishevelled and his skin was soft, the way his pouting mouth was open in a smile – he couldn’t help himself but lean down and press his lips to Lance’s pliant, open ones.

Fireworks. There was no other way to explain it. Lance tasted so sweet, so soft, and so perfect in that small, barely there caress they shared. Keith had only meant it to be a sweet tap of their lips, the adrenaline coursing through them both. But when Lance tiptoed up a little, taking over the kiss and deepening it. He couldn’t help but moan, wrapping his arms tight around Lance’s waist, lifting him up a little until the man was pressed into him, heat scorching heat.

Lance gasped when Keith’s tongue, thick and long as Venom joined in their kiss, came out, tasting his mouth, his lips, his teeth, everywhere. His thick rumble shook them both as they kissed, and kissed and kissed, mouths slick and bruised red, having finally gotten over the last step from friends to lovers.

The lifts behind them dinged open. **_Get ready Keithy._** Keith was reluctant to let go of his pliant lover, _god could Lance kiss!_ But he knew it was better to stop now. Lance leaned up, wanting more, but held back as the lift doors slowly opened.

Flashlights and guns were pointed in their direction, the red beams of the scopes all pointed to their bodies. Keith pushed Lance behind him, and the man went willingly.

And Venom came out to play.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all.  
> Sorry for missing yesterday. I had been having a very not good, overall bad day and just went offline in my head.
> 
> I'm back now, and hopefully I'll be able to update another chapter later today to make up for it.
> 
> Sorry my dears!  
> I've got plans for next chapter. Something...very heated.

He would never have expected something like this, not really. But Keith was slowly, and weirdly, starting to get used to the symbiotic alien in his head – and everywhere else too, but that black sludge of an alien preferred to sit right at his head, cradling his neck and the back of his head, like fingers slithering into his scalp. Keith could sometimes feel his slick and long tongue lick at the corners of his thin skin, teeth sharp as he whispering into his ear.

It was an odd thing to feel, but as the hours grew, and Keith figured that, though Venom was definitely a frightening person – what with the killing and the head eating and all of that scary crap – he had only ever done so when someone was in trouble, when either Keith himself of Lance were in danger.

It was a weird thing to think that a horrifically scary alien thing was actually considerate on who he ate. Keith was thankful that Venom wasn’t just mindlessly killing everyone left, right and centre. He was already so amazed that there were actual, real life aliens out there, and a small, mini, _quite large actually_ , part of him was giddy that the alien had chosen him as a host.

However, movies and documentaries did not do this part justice. Because Keith felt like absolute shit. It wasn’t as if he was aching or in pain, no the alien seemed to have shouldered his usual muscles spasms or whatever else his body rejected him doing – like having a normal fucking life.

But it was more like…well; he wasn’t sure just what Venom was taking away from him. Was there something inside Keith that the alien liked, that he wanted? Because from what Keith could understand, Venom had full reign over his body when he needed to be. So he could just as easily use Keith and then eat him after.

What did Venom want?

“Alright Keith, let’s get in the car this time,” Lance’s voice brought Keith out of his deep thoughts. He held a breath when he felt Lance’s hands wrap around his chest, propping him up and situating him into the small, brightly blue and silver car.

 _What?_ Had he not been trying?

He felt his own hands planted all over Lance’s body, on his back, tendrils slipping down and wrapping around his thighs, pulsating a little, like he was groping Lance’s ass. His other hand was wrapped around Lance’s neck, dragging him closer, thick black tendrils slipping into his so soft hair.

“Oh my god,” he whined, trying to pull away until he was stable on his own two feet. “I’m sorry. Really, I don’t know what is happening.” He yanked his hands away when he was balanced, and slapped at the back of his hand. The sting was harsh, but it was needed. “He’s just…being a _nuisance_ ,”

“Don’t worry about it!” Lance replied all too quickly, his cheeks bursting a bright pink. And that was when Keith found his fingers touching skin. _Hooooly, crap_. Lance was so soft and smooth and warm. Keith wanted to dig his fingers into their and feel more.

“I swear I’m not trying to…” Keith replied flustered, shaking his hands to and fro to keep them in his sight and away from Lance’s body. “I don’t…well, I mean I _do_ but it’s not appropriate, _**it IS appropriate, I want to do it, you want to do it, Lancey wants to do it!** …_shut up Ven! We’re trying to run away from people trying to kill us, now is not the time to be…to be… _ **screwing? Fucking? Getting all sweaty and –**_ _Making out!”_

Lance watched Keith having the argument with…well, himself, and he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. He knew he shouldn’t, after all Keith had a parasite sitting inside his head, and conversing with him. But it was oddly humorous seeing the way his voice changed to Batman levels of gruff when Venom took over. It was like a completely different person. The Keith Lance knew was a quiet, shy, yet extremely hot neighbour who could barely string a sentence around him.

That itself was a very big ego boost for Lance, if he did say so himself, knowing that he could make gorgeous Keith Kogane tongue tied by just smiling at him. The gods had been ever favourable to him to have him live across from such perfection.

However, when Venom took over, which was surprisingly not as scary anymore as it had been when Lance had first seen the big, black, frightening alien with the starry black skin and the gigantic teeth and nails and massive smile…let’s not forget the weird triangular white eyes. Keith did a one eighty from his usual self to someone much more perverted, confident and overly outgoing.

Whirlwind like, Keith was before. But with Venom now sitting in his head, he was very much like a tornado, like a tsunami, or something that had come in and devastated Lance’s head and his heart. He was always turned on whenever Keith looked at him with those uniquely purple eyes, staring right at him, unblinking and so intense. And then when Keith smiled, a barely there up tilt of those lips, and Lance would be panting for breath. And then when Keith laughed…Lance had only heard him laugh a few times in the two years they had been together, but he was definitely, most certain he had ended up in a higher plane of existence.

Oh man, he was hooked and so gone for Keith it was embarrassing and taking over his life. And that kiss… _holy crap_ , Lance.exe had stopped working. 

But now that he knew Keith liked him back, maybe even loved him? Well, Lance wasn’t about to let this guy get away, no matter who or what sat inside his head. He could work with Venom; the alien seemed to like him a lot as well. It’d be…well, it’d definitely be something new, something different.

Keith had already ruined his perceptions of others – well, of course he had, he was shy, and hot, and pretty, and hot, and funny, and _hot_ …Keith Kogane was god damn perfect, no one else could come close. – Maybe he could try starting a proper relationship with him and his…alien friend?

But right now, they had to get Keith away from the building and somewhere safe. Lance was sure the hospital would be the best idea. It was safe, secure, crawling with safeguarding and nurses who would not let anyone pass without a good security check. And both his sister Allura and her fiancé Shiro were there. 

He forced himself to put aside everything Keith had been arguing with Venom about, because well...the idea of them all sweaty and hot, kissing or making out of whatever else Venom had in that large head of his, was distracting Lance.

He’d figure out what they’d need to do as soon as they got to the hospital.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised.  
> Second chapter for today.
> 
> Hopefully I break out of this annoying depressed funk I'm in.  
> I'm sorry~!

Hunk and Pidge stood next to Shiro in his office at the hospital, waiting impatiently as he checked Keith’s blood work from before. They had gotten a call from Lance, who had told them that he was bringing Keith to the hospital and would get there soon.

They would have been better if they had Keith here with them here now, but they could wait those few extra minutes. Lance had been adamant that Keith rest last night. And though Lance was a funny and loveable goofball at best, making him sad was the worst thing in the world. It was like kicking a cute puppy, no one wanted to do it.

Keith really did look like he needed that time to just rest, especially after everything that had happened to him. Being told he was going to die soon, and now this?

“So this…Venom character,” Shiro started, waiting for the machine to work its magic on Keith’s bloods. “Is he going to kill Keith?”

Hunk shook his head, frowning. “We don’t…know,”

“He ate everyone else as soon as he latched onto them,” Pidge added solemnly. “Keith’s lasted the longest,”

“And what was the longest before him?” Shiro asked, his grip tight on his pen, but he didn’t let that show on his face.

“About…three minutes tops,” Pidge replied, thinking back to when the symbiote sunk into the man, the volunteer, and took him over, calling out for Pidge and Hunk to help him. A mere three minutes had passed, and then Venom had destroyed him, ate the man from the inside out.

They had hope; however, because Keith was still here, Keith was still alive. Keith was talking to the symbiote. The bond had solidified enough for the symbiote to be happy with its host – though it was awkward to call Keith a _host;_ it was technically what he was.

“We need to get him here and check him out,” Shiro stated positively, or as positively as he could. Optimism was something he was good at, but when it was something like this, there was only so much you could fake. “What if he’s infected, or worse?”

“Infected?”

Shiro nodded, smiling a little when he heard the beep coming from the machine. He was quick to work, opening the machine and taking out a small vial of blood. Getting a dropper, he sucked up a few drops of blood in the sterile dropper and squeezed a few drops onto a glass slide.

Slipping the slide into the microscope, he took a look.

“Huh.” he rubbed his eyes, blinking a few times, and then looked again.

Pidge and Hunk leaned into him, wanting to know the answers already. What was it that he had seen?

“Nothing.” Shiro said, looking back up to them. “Keith’s blood is pretty much exactly the same as it had been yesterday morning,”

“So…no mini symbiotes running around in his blood?” Hunk asked, motioning for the microscope. Shiro shifted his chair to the side, and let the large man look into the microscope. Though he may not have known Keith’s bloodwork from before, he knew that it looked pretty normal for a man with a tumour in his head. “Huh. That…doesn’t mean anything,”

“Yeah,” Pidge agreed, taking a look at Keith’s blood as well. “After all, it was the first time they bonded; the symbiote could have progressed further into him,”

“Which is why I still want to do a CT scan,” Shiro stated solidly, slapping his hands on his thighs.

The phone rang on his table suddenly, and Shiro turned to it. Lifting the receiver, he smiled when he heard what the receptionist had said. Keith was here. Keith was finally here, and they were going to get to the bottom of all of this.

 

So, Lance was being a bit chill. Yeah, he knew that.

His mind was going a million miles a minute however. Shock and adrenaline was still rushing through his system, and that was just from the kiss they shared in the lifts – like _holy, fuck, wowza_ what a kiss…and that _tongue? Ooooh…_ he was having very, _very_ naughty thoughts about him, and Keith, and Keith’s large hands and that fucking tongue… -- but back to the matter at hand. He was trying to be chill.

Only because Keith looked like he was going to keel over at any moment. And his tiny tantrum like mumbling to the alien in his head was –dare Lance say it – cute! In that odd, what the hell is happening to this person, kind of way…

But Lance knew what was happening to Keith. And he saw the flushed cheeks, the glassy eyes and the frown on his pert yet pouting lips. _Lip’s he’d kissed!_ And yeah, so maybe he was being a bit biased. After all, he already was head over heels for the guy. What’s a little extra?

Yeah, Lance…you’ve lost your god damn mind.

See, adrenaline and shock. That’s what it was. And it was in no way thinking about that tongue going inside… _other places…_

Yeah. No.

Not that at all…

They reached the hospital, and Lance vaulted out of his seat, turning his car and helping Keith out of the passengers’ seat. He didn’t wait for Keith to do or say anything, instead he leaned in, wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist and hoisting him up from the seat.

“I can walk myself,” Keith protested, flustered and blushing a cute pink.

Lance shook his head, propping Keith to his side and wrapping his arms around the slightly taller man’s shoulders, helping him walk forward.

“Let me pamper you a little,” he said sweetly, kicking the passenger door and locking the car with the fob. “And Venom too,”

 ** _“Say please and thank you, right Lancey?”_** Keith’s voice turned gruff again as Venom spoke for him, and then returned to Keith’s normal siren like voice. “Th-thank you, Lance,”

Lance actually shuddered, smirking that both Keith and Venom liked him.

They were quick to make their way to the front desk, the receptionist calling Shiro himself, and then ushering the two into the hallways leading to Shiro’s office. Both Keith and Lance knew how to get to his office, so their short trek was spent sharing small glances here and there. Venom’s arms wrapped around Lance’s waist and dragging him closer with each step.

It was sweet in a way, and though the tendrils and tight grip was a little frightening, it was much more alluring. Lance could only imagine just how strong Keith was now. Memories returning to the fight in the lifts, and in the parking lot, Lance let his imagination run wild.

Keith would probably be able to lift Lance up and hold him for _hours!_

They arrived at Shiro’s office almost too quickly. The doctor was ready for them, opening the door and telling them to follow him. The two nodded, noticing both Hunk and Pidge in the office behind them, but neither of them was surprised.

Shiro ushered them to the MRI wing, and knocked on one of the doors. The doors were quick to open and a tall man with an orange moustache appeared before them, smiling brightly.

“There you are!” He said, his voice so much more pronounced in his accent as he ushered the five into the room. He pointed to Keith and nodded. “Is this him?”

Shiro nodded. “Yes, we need this to be discreet, Coran,”

Coran nodded, making a motion to zipping his mouth shut and throwing away the pretend key. “Your secret is safe with me, young man,”

Keith pulled away from Lance, already used to the motions of going into an MRI. He shrugged off his jacket and shoes, thankful he was only wearing one of Lance’s loose shirt and pyjamas – he hadn’t changed from them that morning, too busy eating peoples’ heads – and got onto the pallet.

“Alright, Keith?” Shiro asked from the other side of the MRI room. Keith held a thumbs’ up and took in a deep breath as the machine started up.

The pallet started to move into the incredibly claustrophobic chamber, once Keith was inside, he held his thumb up once again, indicating for Shiro to start and took in a deep breath. He heard the familiar whirring of the machine as it revved up.

And that was when hell broke loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coran, Coran, the gorgeous man!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one today.  
> I got some rather bad news and wasn't really in the mood to write much.  
> Sorry poppets!

Fire.

It felt like fire was burning him up from the insides.

White hot pain, his eyes were white, his lips trembling harshly, opened wide in a scream that rattled his teeth. His tongue felt thick in his mouth. He couldn’t see, he couldn’t breathe. What the fuck!

His blood felt like it was literally burning under his skin, pulsing and quivering as it heated him up, pumping faster and faster, so fast Keith thought he was going to burst. His skin was prickled with sweat, muscles strained as he held onto the plastic plush of the pallet.

His stomach felt like it was in literal knots, twisting and turning inside him, his guts wrapping and writhing, his heart working double time as it pounded so fast Keith felt it was going to leap out of him, yet his lungs stayed, pressed achingly harsh against his ribcage, wanting to meld through.

His head felt like it was swimming in treacle, so slow and thick as he tried to swim up, up, up, please, when will this end?

The heat rushed through him, pulsating back and forth like a wave, rushing from his head down to the tips of his toes. Pain, so much main as it rippled and crested, wave upon wave of pain, pain, pain.

His throat ached, hoarse from his screams, his body too taut to move, back bowed and legs ram rod straight, veins thick under his skin as he prayed for this all to stop!

Keith suddenly felt the pain leave him, almost so immediate that it caused him to lie there in shock; wondering what the hell had just happened. Had that pain been a hallucination? A dream? Nothing that awful could die so quickly.

He felt a warm pair of arms wrap around his body, pulling his limp body up and out of the MRI scanner. The scent of sand and sea, of sunshine enveloped his body, filling his nose. He felt so heavy, and so, so tired. He couldn’t get up, he couldn’t do anything.

Those arms around him tightened and Keith’s head lolled back, hazily looking up into those beautiful and familiar ocean blue eyes he had been dreaming about. His eyes were so dark, and filled with moist tears, shining so wonderfully. His caramel skin looking so soft and smooth in the bright artificial lights, Keith wished he had the energy to reach up and touch him, to press his mouth against that soft skin, to his pouting and quivering lips. Lips that were moving, lips talking to him.

What was he saying?

Keith couldn’t hear him, he felt like someone had shoved cotton balls in his ears, or dunked him under a pool of water. He could only see blurrily, and feel those warm, so soft, yet firm hands around his body, hoisting him up from the pallet and into his strong arms.

Wow…so this was what those damsels in distress felt like? Because, Keith sure wasn’t a damsel by any stretch, but he’d be in constant distress if Lance lifted him up like this. He could feel those arms, like firm steel, wrapped around his back and under his bended knees. He was pressed up against Lance’s body, head resting on Lance’s shoulder, looking up to those determined and worried eyes and Lance spoke to someone.

Oh who cared…? He was here now, in Lance’s arms, and they had kissed before.

…

…

…

Wait…

_No retort?_

No sexual innuendo?

No Lancey and Keithy?

“Where’s Venom?” Keith asked, though with his slurred and exhausted body, it sounded more like _“wurs’ vom?”_ but you couldn’t blame him for that.

He closed his eyes. Oh, this was weird. Though it had been less than twenty four hours since Venom had taken host over his body, and though within that time frame, Venom had pretty much ruined his life and his overall…socialness – well, lack of socialness, – and he had eaten a man, gotten him to kiss Lance – though Keith had to be honest, he had been the one who had leaned in that extra bit to kiss the very life out of his gorgeous neighbour, but Venom had gotten him that close…

Keith honestly felt like something was missing, something like a limb, or a vital organ. He felt cold suddenly and hot at the same time. Squirming in Lance’s arms, he wanted to get out of here, but at the same time, he wanted Lance’s arms to tighten around him, to squeeze him.

What was happening?

Where…where was Venom?

“…be okay, Keith,” Lance’s voice was a soft murmur in his panicked mind. He looked up into those ocean eyes once again, seeing that they were calmer now.

He was on a bed, the same bed he had called his home for the past few nights. It was the comfortable one in Shiro’s office. He noticed Shiro standing next to him, holding onto his arm, fingers pressed to his wrist as he was checking his pulse.

Keith felt awful. He felt stiff and cold and _awful!_

He whined, god how awfully pathetic that was, he hadn’t whined when he found out he was going to die, hell he hadn’t even cried. He had just let it sink into him and eat away at him until he was here.

And yet, not even a full day had passed since he had a symbiotic alien bond with him, and suddenly Keith felt like he had lost everything. Say what he had wanted about the crazy alien, Venom had protected him, had protected _Lance,_ he had been there, a big black ball of scary cuteness.

It was like Keith had literally lost a part of him.

_Ven…please, Venom…_ he didn’t know what was happening with him, why had he gotten so close to the alien so quickly? Was this what Pidge had meant by him bonding with Venom? Was this what if felt like? They were compatible, perfect for one another. He; a host and Venom his; …whatever Venom was.

Keith should have been happy that he had gotten rid of such a frightening thing, something that ate humans as if they were a snack that was so strong and powerful it could easily lift humans and slice and dice through them like warmed butter.

But he wasn’t. He was scared, yes. But…he wanted Venom back.

_…Be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...uhm...  
> ...he's gonna be okay, dears. I wouldn't do that to you!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger, but thank you so much for all of your lovely comments!

It was cold. Like the kind of freezing cold you could feel on the inside.

Shivers wracked his stiff body, and he tried his best to take in deep breaths, but even his lungs felt frozen. They were aching as he gasped in quick, short breaths. His skin was still prickling, though it had died down somewhat. He could feel the goose bumps ripple along his skin, his hair standing on end.

This wasn’t looking good.

His body was still just so stiff, joints aching, entire _body_ aching. He lay there, unsure just what the hell was happening. Nothing in his life had ever got him this bad. Had Venom done something to him? Had he really eaten through his body while in a ruse to make friends with him?

Or was this something even more sinister.

He lay on the bed, his head still swimming, opening his eyes, he grimaced at the brightness. Everything around him felt _too much_ , the sterile scent was overpowering his nose, the sheets on the bed felt scratchy, the unhurried beeping sounds and the quiet chatter of everything he could hear around him was just _so loud._

He heard the scream before anything else, and it floored him, rattling and echoing in his ears. His already aching head hurt so much. The sound of screaming was followed by something metal falling onto the ground. The crash sounded like an odd ringing in the air, and for some reason Keith had the need to find Lance.

He forced his eyes open, blearily blinking them a few times to wet them, the lights were just so bright and they stung and strained his eyes. He closed them again, using his hands instead to look for his lover – his _neighbour!_  -- searching as much as he could with all of the outside intensity pouring into his head.

Why did everything hurt right now?

He felt warmth to his right, and scented the soft sandy sea scent that made Lance, and he latched onto it, latching onto him. He heard Lance’s voice go from the low droll it had been to a sharp cry as Keith dragged him to his side, fingers digging into the sleeves of his jacket.

**“ _What is happening?”_** He asked, but paused. Why was his voice so gruff, and growly? It sounded like he had gargled with glass. It sounded…

…familiar.

Keith forced his eyes to open then, slowly peeking out through the brightness, trying his best to take in the artificial lights that stung his eyes, as if they had an agenda to blind him. He heard Lance tell someone to dim the lights, a few moments later the lights dimmed down enough for Keith to see enough to open his eyes a little more.

Whoa…

Everything was…different. Like there was a shimmer of something shining and moving on the surface of everything. It looked like there were little pinprick fire flies floating just at the surface, moving along with every move he made.

This was…yeah, no. This was absolutely crazy. He smiled at the beautiful image before him. The world, blanketed in such star like beauty. It made him happy to see something so astounding.

But _how_ was he seeing something like this?

“Keith?” Lance’s voice was a soft light shining through the fog of Keith’s mind. He was slow to move, but he turned his head to Lance, smiling almost dazedly as he saw the gorgeous face littered with pure fireflies of shine, pressing against his skin, kissing at his lips, drowning into the corners of his eyes. It was so beautiful. “…Venom?”

V…Venom?

“Where is he?” Keith asked, coughing at the soreness in his throat. Oh god, he must have ripped something, because it ached so badly now that he was focused on it. “Where is Ven?”

“Keith…” Lance started again; he turned to Shiro, who was standing a few feet behind him, almost pressed up against the back wall. “Get me a mirror…now, please,”

Through hazy eyes, Keith spotted Pidge and Hunk standing by the doorway, Hunk helping a nurse – an unconscious nurse, mind you – onto the plump sofa in the corner of the room, Pidge was fanning her face with her hands. What the hell had happened?

Shiro shook out of his gaze and turned to his desk, pulling open a few drawers; he found what he was looking for and fished it out. It was a small compact mirror, in a black frame. He handed it to Lance.

“Ease him into it Lance,” Shiro said quietly, looking down and away from Keith.

Keith reached up for him, wanting to find out just what the hell his doctor turned brother was doing. Why was he acting this way? Why was he looking away?

Lance sat on the bed by Keith’s side, and Keith’s gaze darted immediately to him, to his shining face. He held back a smile at the beautiful man, _god, Lance was so pretty_ and instead looked down to the small compact mirror he was holding in his hands.

“Now Keith,” Lance started, fiddling with the clasp on the mirror. “This might be a bit scary, but I want you to know that we’re going to do everything we can to fix this,”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Keith asked, looking at everyone else in the room, seeing how apprehensive, _how scared_ they all looked.

Oh god, what the hell had happened?

Lance sucked in a breath, and Keith copied him, taking in a lung full of the sweet sandy and sea scent that made the pretty man sitting before him. Lance flipped open the mirror and slowly held it up to Keith’s face.

When Keith’s face came into view in the reflection, his eyes widened.

It was…it…he…

Venom was there alright, meshed into the skin of Keith’s face, slipping in and out of Keith’s skin as if he were weaved into the flesh. Keith’s eyes were wide, turned up at the corners, almost triangular in shape at the corners, kind of like a cats eyes. His eyes were still the same as his own, the irises a thin circle of purple in his shock. His teeth were sharper too, one set of sharp, pointed and fang like. His mouth was a thick red, and his tongue was longer. His hair was still there, long at the back (mullet like, as Lance had constantly told him) but his neck was cradled by Venom’s starry black skin.

“Ho…holy fuck,” Keith mumbled, he took the mirror from Lance’s hands, and noticed his nails were a little longer and sharper too. The rest of the skin of his arms was similar to the skin on his face, bulbous patches of starry black and his pale flesh. It looked like someone had splattered thick wads of paint onto his skin.

“Venom?” He tried calling, hoping and wishing and praying that the alien would reply. Maybe he could wake the alien up from wherever he had gone, and then they could fix this together.

No luck. Everything was quiet on Venom’s side.

“We…we think he tried to save you,” Pidge started, settling closer and closer to Keith, now that she could see he wasn’t a real threat – she had after all seen first hand just what Venom could do, so she would always be a bit vehement when it came to the symbiote – “When the MRI went off, the frequency must have been dangerous for him…I don’t know…he just freaked and was split from you. You were screaming… _he_ was screaming,”

“It was…horrible to watch,” Hunk added slowly, peering in close to Keith. “It was like…he was trying to claw his way back in, but the machine, the frequency wasn’t letting him.”

“It was heart breaking,” Lance murmured, reaching to Keith’s hand, hesitant to touch. But with tentative fingers, Lance took Keith’s hand and held it up, running soothing circles to the blackened back of his palms.

“When we stopped the MRI,” Shiro continued, leaning against the foot of the bed, letting out a breath in knowing Keith’s vitals were alright. He was okay, he was talking and moving and breathing. “It was like he snapped right back into place, but…it didn’t work well,”

“You look like tie dye,” Lance held back a chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

“I’d have said paint splatters, but tie die works,” Keith held his hands up, not letting go of Lance’s fingers gripping his own. “What happened to Venom? Why can’t I hear him?”

Shiro shrugged his shoulders. “We ran a few tests on you…ones that we could. Nothing has changed in you, Keith. And from what little we got from the MRI…you’re…your tumour seems to have disappeared,”

Keith’s eyes widened. That couldn’t be true. Shiro had said his tumour had taken over almost a quarter of his brain. That was such a sizeable chunk that it had been impossible to get rid of it all completely. But…for Shiro to say this.

Venom.

He had said he had _got it_ when he first had entered Keith’s head. Maybe…maybe _that_ was what he had got? Keith wouldn’t be able to know until he finally got Venom up and running. And he was desperate to do so.

Did he need something? Did he need to recuperate? Maybe Venom felt the same kind of loss Keith did when they had almost separated? Maybe that was why he was in there, hiding away, like a dragon protecting his horde – or in Venom’s case, his Keith.

“Venom?” Keith tried again, but he was met with silence.

Lance’s hands running over his skin was a very soothing, and Keith let himself breath in and out, trying to calm himself down. Venom was still here – which, yet again, Keith wondered just how quickly he had gotten used to an alien taking him over, but there was no use now. Venom was a part of him…scarily so – and Keith was going to make sure he was okay.

He had already saved Keith from countless of threats so far, going as far to eat his tumour, protect him and Lance from those men, and then he had tried to save Keith even when he himself would have died.

What was he going to do without Venom around him anymore? He wouldn’t be able to fight off the men following him, hell bent on killing him; he wouldn’t be able to protect himself. He wouldn’t be able to protect Lance without Venom!

_Ven...please…I need you…just tell me you’re okay._

**…**

**…**

**…**

**…Keithy…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuunnn...


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, sorry about the lateness. Was having some trouble with my internet (I know, in this day and age...sigh). It's all okay now!

Dr Zarkon’s eyes widened when he heard what his stupid meagre worker had just said. He had waxed lyrically about what he had seen outside of Holt’s door, or outside of Holt’s neighbours’ door. The blood, the gore, the lack of limbs. It was all sweet to Zarkon. To see just how much damage his property could do.

So…it seemed like his symbiote gold mine had found his perfect bonded partner.

But, this was starting to become a bit of an annoyance. After all, such a valuable piece of biologically sound foreign entity should not be roaming around inside someone unworthy of it. No matter how compatible they were. Zarkon had to find this…whatever his name was that his worker had been talking about, and take him down.

Or…

Wait… _or_. He could use this man. After all, he seemed to be a perfect partner to his alien. Everyone could be bought after all. Whatever it was this man wanted, Zarkon would promise to give, and then he’d control him _and_ the alien residing inside him.

“Where is he?” Zarkon asked, reaching down to pat a heavy hand on the workers shoulder.

The worker jumped, sagging at the force of his frightening touch, eyes darting this way and that. “I…he…from what we saw…we…” he took in a deep breath, clenching his eyes shut. He had been sick to his stomach at the gore. “We don’t know,”

Zarkon sucked in a breath, his grip tightening and tightening on the man, squeezing him to bruise him, trying to keep his temper back. It would not do well to lose himself here. He was at work; he was the face of an entire empire. Galra Tech followed and worshiped him. He wasn’t going to lose his cool here.

“You’re fired,” he stated instead, pushed the man back.

The worker stumbled back, his face blanching white. “Bu-but…but sir!”

Zarkon turned away, walking down the long hallway and back into his office, his white coat swaying behind him. He was going to find someone who could _find his god damn alien._

Keith couldn’t leave the hospital until he fixed his… _everything._

He turned to the empty space on the sofa where the nurse had been unconscious, Hunk had helped picking her up and dragging her to another room, while Shiro picked up her things and placed them on the table on the side. The three had soon left the room, the hours seeming to have passed with little to no change.

Honestly, Keith didn’t know just what he was waiting to happen, but he just wanted it to happen already. It wouldn’t be like Venom would pop up and be as energetic as he had been before. The frequency had been too high on the MRI scanner, and Pidge had said that was the likely cause to make Venom act like this. She had said he needed a moment to come back, like he was charging up like a battery while inside Keith. Like he was sleeping.

So instead, Keith focused on what he could do for himself.

His gaze returned to the empty sofa. Seeing that she had just gotten a quick look at him and had screamed so loud it had caused _him_ to freak out, Keith knew he would no longer be able to just walk down the street and be alone in the myriad of people in the world.

Yeah, no. Not anymore. Not until Venom was fixed.

He grasped the mirror in his hand and took another look at his face. His teeth were still fanged sharp, his eyes a slightly brighter white, and turned up at the corners, and his tongue was long and tapered at the end.

It was frightening to see, and that was without noticing the thick starry black patches of skin here and there.

“ _Ven, you can rest, just focus on healing,_ ” Keith sighed, he had heard Venom speak before, so he knew his alien was still there, that Venom was still okay.

Shiro had injected him with something moments before, and it had relaxed Keith a little bit, keeping him away from the panic attack that was sure to come strong and hard at him. Though, he had to admit, Lance had helped him a lot with that just by being there.

Speaking of. Lance was still here, hand still held tightly in his own, though he had moved to the chair on the side of the bed, and was currently swiping his fingers down his phone. He was still here, still strong and still so _wonderful._

_Why_ _was Lance still here?_

“Lance…” Keith murmured, needing to know. His heart just wasn’t able to take any more right now. It already hurt with everything that was happening to him. He just needed to know! “Why…you don’t have to…”

“You better not be telling me I don’t have to stay here,” Lance replied, not looking away from his phone. “Because if you think I’m going to leave you after that kiss, you’re sorely mistaken, babe.”

Keith’s cheeks tinged such a bright pink, offset by the blackened patches along his skin. Was Lance ready to talk about the kiss? Was he going to tell him that it had been awful? Or that there was something very wrong about him.

God, there really _was_ something wrong about Keith now wasn’t there. It was shown on his very skin. Pidge had tried to brighten his mood before, telling him he looked like a cool game glitch or something. Keith could see it, but at the same time, he really didn’t _want_ to look like this. He wanted to go back to being himself, and having Venom in his head, and Lance in his arms.

“I…you can’t…” Frustrated at himself, Keith shut the mirror, unable to look at himself right now, and placed it down on his lap. His fingers clenching tight at the sheets, body almost shuddering in disgust. He had thought he may have had a smidgen of hope with Lance before, but now there was just no chance. Who would want to go out with someone like him? “Just, you can’t like someone like me, Lance just _look at me_ ,”

Lance slipped his phone into his pocket, getting up and turning slowly to the alien host he called his lover – okay, so Lance called him that in his head, but it was only a few conversations away from it being a reality. A conversation they were going to have right now!

He sat on the corner of the bed and reached out for Keith, taking his head and cradling his face, turning it so Keith’s purple eyes stared straight into his own blue. “I _am_ looking at you,”

Keith’s eyes widened, seeing so much in those eyes, so much care, so much trust, so much love. And best of all, Lance was showing no fear. He was _touching_ Keith, fingers warm against his skin. Tears were forming at the corners of Keith’s eyes. He couldn’t take it.

_How could a man be so perfect?_

“How can you?” he asked, unable to take it all, his heart ached, his body tired. He just wanted this all to end already. It was like a long nightmare, one he couldn’t wake from. “I’m a monster,”

The grip on Keith’s face tightened, the heat in Lance’s eyes grew into a burning fire. He got up from his seat, climbing up onto the bed to straddle over Keith’s thighs. He gripped Keith’s face again, leaning in extremely close, his breath hot and his body like a roaring flame.

“You are _not_ a monster,” He said it with such conviction, that Keith couldn’t help but believe him. “We’re going to fix you up, get Venom back, and then we’re going to take down those assholes that did this to you both,”

Keith looked into those eyes, seeing just how determined Lance looked, and he nodded. He could do this, as long as he had Lance by his side. He'd just have to wait for Venom to finally wake up. 

The knock on the door broke the two from their thoughts. They both looked over to the door, expecting to see Shiro, or another nurse ready to faint at the way Keith looked. But who they saw instead made Lance shudder.

The man stood there, looking large and powerful, a thick red scar slashed down his eyes. He had his arms crossed over his thick chest, and he was looking directly at them.

 

"I'm here for Mr. Kogane,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuuuunnn!


	21. Chapter 21

Lance knew it was pointless to do so, but he was quick to get up from Keith’s lap and stood in front of the prone man.

He looked up to the larger man standing at the doorway, his scar cut across his right eye, his hair was a weird shade of black, almost purple, and he had this weird thing going with his lips. But Lance didn’t care, he recognised this man. It was the same man he had seen leaving the block of apartments when he had come back from work. When he had seen Keith’s apartment in complete destruction.

There was definitely something fishy going on here, and Lance was going to get to the bottom of it.

“Who are you?” He asked, spotting the call buttons and sidled a little to the side, reaching for the wall and leaning right next to the buttons. “What do you want with Keith?”

The man crossed his arms over his chest, eyes rolling over from Lance to Keith, the corners of his lips twitched a little in a smirk, but he quickly hid it away. His gaze returned to Lance, but within that time, Lance had pressed the nurse call button and mere moments later there were two nurses standing behind the man, motioning for him to move. One, Lance recognised as his own sister, who was giving him a stern look.

Lance gave the man a smug look, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched the man be manhandled by two small, and strong looking nurses. They ushered him over to the seat, and made their way over to Keith.

“What the quiznak is happening Lance?” Allura asked, moving over to Keith and checking his vitals, while the other male nurse kept the large man at bay. “Are you alright, Keith?”

She leaned in close to him, and Keith’s cheeks tinged a little pink at how close she was. There was no denying Allura was pretty, hell all of Lance’s family were pretty. But she had a tendency of trying to get closer to him, because she wanted to know more about him – or at least that was what she had said when Keith had first seen her all those years ago, his _brothers_ girlfriend at the time – and she had been so lovely then too, in her sundress and large hat.

She was still trying now, he could tell, now that she was Shiro’s fiancée. But Keith was not used to people coming so close to him, worrying about him, hell, even just caring about him. He only had Shiro most of his adult life – after he found out about the tumour in his head – and even Shiro wasn’t exactly the hugging, and leaning in close and being all sweet and nurturing kind.

He tried…of course he did. But that was a different story entirely.

Right now, Allura was leaning over to fluff his pillows, whispering in his ear. “I don’t know what is happening, but if you want that man out, you just say the words.”

The man with the scar suddenly straightened, as if he had heard what Allura had said. He raised his hand up to them, pointing a slim and sharp finger to the three at the bed. “I know what happened to you and Venom,”

Lance stood solid in front of Keith, not letting the man get any closer. “What do you mean?”

“That… _rash_ everyone is calling it,” the man with the scar stated, dropping his hands to his side in a motion to show solace, rather than danger. “I know how to fix it,” – he stared directly into Keith’s eyes then. “I know how to fix _him,”_

_“Fix him?”_ Allura asked with such anger in her voice. She stood up, making her way around the bed and standing in front of Lance. She crossed her arms over her ample chest, her eyes narrowed into angry slits. Fury raging inside her. “There is nothing _wrong_ with him!”

Oh, dear sweet Allura now was not the time to be all holier than thou and caring for your future brother in law. Right now, Keith needed to know how to get Venom better, how to wake the beast up. He needed to be able to _live_ a normal life without looking like a weird monochrome splatter painting.

Keith reached out for Lance, nudging him out of the way. Lance turned to him, settling down on the bed and reaching for his hand. Keith shook his head, motioning for Allura to move as well. This man may be a threat, but Keith was not going to let that stop him. He needed to find answers to all of this, and if this man knew, then Keith was going to wring him until he answered everything.

“What is your name?” Keith asked, first and foremost.

The man shuffled a little on his feet, looking down. He breathed in deeply, and then looked up, directly back into Keith’s purple, cat like eyes.

“My name is Kolivan,” he stated, “You need to come with me, if you want to live,”

Lance’s eyes widened, he held his hands up and cried; “Hold the phone, Keith isn’t going anywhere, Terminator,”

Kolivan sighed, reaching into his inside jacket pocket. He was slow with his movements, showing them that he wasn’t a threat, as he pulled out a small square memory card. He held it up in his hands, showing them the little black tech.

“If you don’t listen to me,” Kolivan stated, clearly and concisely. “I will show this to Dr. Zarkon, and you can kiss your little boyfriend goodbye for the rest of your life,”

“Are you _threatening him?”_ Allura gasped, taking a strong step forward.

“What’s on there?” Lance asked, hand rose like a barrier in front of Keith.

“I wish it hadn’t had to come to this,” Kolivan clucked his tongue, clutching the memory card in his hands. “I have evidence of Venom being taken away by Dr. Holt and Dr. Garrett,”

Lance stood up suddenly, “You’re ‘K’?”

Kolivan nodded, pocketing the memory card back in his jacket, and crossed his arms over his chest once again. “Now, like I said…you need to come with me,”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How the hell have I almost hit the 40k mark and yet nothing has really happened?  
> Wow, I am so sorry this is so long winded. But there is a moral to this story, something WILL happen!  
> And it will happen soon!

Keith was tucked under Lance’s arms, hidden in his larger jacket, hood covering his face from the world. He looked down to his feet, grimacing at the socks he was wearing. They were those plastic bootie socks that surgical residents and cleaners wore. But at least this way, no one could see his skin, so no one would stare at him.

He was still a little woozy, what with everything going on, and still everything around him had a thin layer of glow under his gaze. Lance’s arm draped around his shoulders, and pressed at his chest to keep his hood on and his face hidden. Keith smiled, his skin still had that brilliant shine, like honey caramel, like coffee cream. Keith wanted to lick it. Lance smelled so amazing, as well, that sandy beachy, sea front scent, fresh sea air. He couldn’t get enough of it.

Whatever was happening to him, it was a mixture of both good and bad.

“We’ll need to take my car,” Kolivan’s voice broke Keith from his lofty day dreams, and crashing back into the reality of what was happening.

Both he and Lance had been reluctant to go with this large man. But once Kolivan was in the clear from nurse Allura’s wrath, and the wrath of Lance McClain – which was a definite turn on by the way, not that he would ever tell the man, he was already embarrassed enough as it was with everything the dozing Venom was feeling and muttering into his mind – Kolivan had told them that the symbiote inside Keith – Venom, as Keith had aptly told the man roughly, because Venom did not like being called an Earth species name, though Keith was damn well sure he’d be unable to say just what Venom was in his alien tongue. His own tongue just didn’t move that way, – Venom was something completely different to what they thought he would be.

It was strange, the way he had latched onto Keith. Especially now with the way Venom had protected Keith. But Kolivan hadn’t looked all that surprised, he had just looked sad as he told them that they couldn’t talk here; they’d need to go somewhere private.

“No way,” Lance said vehemently, motioning his hands to shoo Kolivan away as they reached the hospital car park. “You can go in your car, and me and Keith will follow,”

“I don’t understand,” Kolivan paused, looking right and left, then above and below, like he was looking for something. “It’ll be easier and quicker if you just _follow me,”_

The way he emphasised the last words, his eyes widening and head tilting a little. Lance was a little worried now, Keith was barely able to stand with what had happened to him, and if anyone caught them now, well, all hell would definitely get loose.

Lance didn’t think he could outman the thugs that had come to his home. And they didn’t even have guns. He was sure if whoever was following them found them, they’d have guns.

Venom saved him before, but the alien was down for the count right now, and Keith didn’t look healthy enough to fight. Lance didn’t trust Kolivan, not at all, so he wasn’t sure if this man – come on, the dude was sneaky, broody and had a scar on his face, right by his eye! That just screamed bad guy! – If Kolivan was on their side.

Maybe this was a new tactic the big bad guy – yeah, so that was his name now until Lance figured out who he was – was doing, like he sent his men and Keith whizzed right through them. Now they were going for the ‘good cop’ routine?

That had to be it!

“I would prefer my car,” Lance said, standing his ground.

Kolivan let out an exasperated breath, but nodded. He followed as Lance wrapped his arms tighter around Keith, his boyfriend – yeah, he was coining the taste of that word, and it was delicious! – was still a little disoriented, and Lance didn’t blame him one bit. He leaned heavily onto Lance, hooded head pressed into Lance’s shoulder, feet dragging along the ground.

His poor boyfriend.

They reached Lance’s blue car, and Lance was quick to place Keith in the back seat, buckling him in safely and securely. He did not want to be sitting next to Kolivan, but it was better than scar face sitting in the back, where he could be doing god knows what while Lance focused on driving.

Kolivan raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything as he took the passenger seat. Lance vaulted around the car and sat down in the drivers’ seat. Taking out his keys, he moved his mirror so he could see the back window _and_ Keith. His poor boyfriend was slumped on the seat, head pressed to the cool glass. But his breathing wasn’t as laboured as it had been before, and his eyes looked less glassy.

That was a good sign.

“Alright, where to?” Lance asked, starting the car up. Kolivan pointed to the exit of the car park, and Lance rolled his eyes. So it was going to be like that eh? “Alright, Satnav.” Lance grumbled, coming out of the parking space and driving around the parking lot until he was out of it. “But if you so much as think about messing with me or Keith _or Venom,_ you better think again,”

Kolivan rolled his eyes, but nodded, pointing to the left and waiting as Lance turned the car onto the street.

“Talk,” Keith said from the back, his voice still a little raspy. “Tell me what you know, tell me how to fix this,”

Kolivan leaned back a little, eyes darting to look back at Keith. The young man’s skin was still splotched black and pale, eyes wide and cat like, and his teeth were still sharp in some places. He looked creepy, but in a Halloween costume and makeup way. Keith was just a poor boy in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He grimaced, but forced himself not to show it on his face. “I know how to get Venom out of you,”

Keith’s eyes narrowed and that made him look all the more frightening. “I don’t want him out of me; I want him back to the way he was _in_ me,”

Kolivan’s eyes widened, but his lips tilted up into a smirk. But he wasn't at all surprised. He had expected the young man to think as such. This was good. This was actually going to happen.

"Alright, fine." He said, leaning back on the seat, pointing another direction to Lance. "But this is where it’s going to get difficult.”

Keith forced his frail body forward, the hood falling from his head. He placed a hand on Lance's chair to steady himself, as he smirked. "We are all in,"


	23. Chapter 23

Of course it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

But for a moment, Keith actually thought it would have been. What an idiot he was. Strapped to a chair, Lance by his side, holding onto his hands – even though Kolivan had told him to step far away. Lance had growled at him and told him to back off, he’d let go when it was needed.

Keith looked up into his eyes, and Lance saw just how scared he looked. This was not going to work out well for either of them that was for sure. His heart was hammering in his chest. He didn’t trust this Kolivan character, but the man knew a lot about the alien he was hosting.

He had even known the true name of the alien race, and that had shocked Keith. He didn’t think a human could say that word. But, maybe Kolivan wasn’t technically human. That had to be the case, right?

Well, he sure _looked_ human. Then again, so did Keith, and he was half alien right now, kind of…maybe he was more alien-adjacent? He was host, but Venom _could_ technically take over.

So, he knew he had to do this.

His grip tightened on Lance’s hands, before he let go completely. He knew this was the moment where everything would either go really wrong, or really right.

“See you on the other side,” Lance murmured, leaning close and pressing a kiss to his lips. Keith revelled in it, a blush bursting bright on his cheeks. He didn’t look away, however. If this _was_ the last time he saw Lance, then he was going to take that face into memory with him, seeing those flushed cheeks and that warm smile would help him through this.

“Ready?” Kolivan asked, and Keith looked to him standing on the other side of the chair. He nodded; before he thought about just what the hell he was putting himself into, and talked himself out of it. _Many people have all sorts of skin problems…_

No, he needed to make sure Venom was okay. He had to do this.

Taking in a deep breath, he leaned his head forward and put the bit Kolivan had in his hands in his mouth, digging his sharp teeth into the fresh wood taste. It was awful just how quickly his mouth salivated at it.

He gave one long look to Lance, loosening his grip and telling Lance to do the same. He didn’t want Lance to get hit by whatever Kolivan was going to do to him.

Why he believed this man could help him, he didn’t know. But anything was better than what he was going through right now. His heart thudded madly in his chest as he watched Lance stand a few feet away, restrained behind a thick wood fence like barrier that circled around Keith.

Keith sat in the centre, taking a tighter grip of the arms of the chair, his claw like nails making thin grooves against the wood. He took one last look at Lance, seeing his lover watching him so intently, with such worry in his pretty blue eyes. Keith nodded to him, sucking in a breath and then turned to Kolivan, nodding to him as well.

Kolivan returned his nod, and made his way over to the small panel on the wall. It was almost like a weird rendition of Frankenstein, where Kolivan was the doctor, and Keith was the monster about to be brought to life.

“Alright, Keith. Let’s do this.” Kolivan said, and then he started counting down from three.

Keith dug his teeth deeper into the bit in his mouth, his tongue slippery against the moistened wood. He knew this was going to hurt; it was why Kolivan had given him the bit. And when Kolivan pressed the large red button on the very top of the panel on the wall; Keith came first hand to feel just how much it did.

Lightening fissured through him, starting from the very tips of his toes, travelling like a shudder all the way to the top of his head. It was a heavy, pulsing, aching feeling. He felt like he was drowning, he wasn’t getting any air into his body. His very skin prickled, wanting to curl and hide his heart pounding double time.

Fuck, so much pain!

His scream was lost in the harsh and pulsating sound that disrupted his ears. But instead of the pain revolving around his head and forcing him to look away, he looked ahead this time. And that was when he saw Venom.

In the haze of his pain, he finally saw his alien.

Well, he saw the coffee like sludge that had jumped into him at the very beginning. Keith could _feel_ Venom shuddering under his skin, and it felt like hot, almost electric water was sluicing over his skin as Venom slipped and slid from around him and to the front of his chest, acting like a chest plate of armour. He gathered all of himself from Keith’s skin, but his tendrils and tentacles stayed stuck to Keith’s chest.

Keith looked down and saw Venom’s familiar face; his smile was wide, teeth still as sharp, and his white, triangular shaped eyes bright. He was groaning though, almost like he was in pain.

The pulsating sound slowed down, quietening until it was barely a thudding of a heart beating. He didn’t know how long it had been, but Keith was completely knackered. He looked down, eyes half lidded as he saw his alien sitting on his chest, head lying on his shoulders, tendrils wrapped around his waist.

“Hey Ven,” Keith wheezed out, trying to get his harsh breathing to slow down.

Venom looked up at him like a baby wanting comfort. For a moment, Keith wished he hadn’t been tied up. He instead leaned his head down and Venom tilted his head up, knocking their foreheads together.

“ ** _Keithy…_** ” Venom’s voice was still a little growly and sore, like it had been in his head ever since he had woken up. But Keith knew he was okay now, they needed a moment to recover, but they were going to get better. **_“We need to get out of here now.”_**

Keith’s eyes widened and that was when he heard the heavy thuds and grunts and the sounds of gun shots going off around him.


	24. Chapter 24

Keith felt like he had been dreaming the last few minutes.

He was hot, sweaty and breathing heavily. Raggedly forcing air into his lungs as his eyes adjusted to the bright artificial lights. His mind was fuzzy, memory a little shoddy to what had happened. He remembered sitting on the chair, the pain coursing through his body from whatever it was that Kolivan had done to him. He remembered looking down to the circular blob that stretched out of Venom, the head laying on his chest, sinking into his skin, felt those familiar tendrils slink around his body and hold him tight. He saw those frightening eyes and equally terrifying teeth widen in a bright smile as Venom’s tongue reached out to slick the side of his face with warm spit.

He remembered the sound of something popping and clinking into the glass around him, a heavy thud of metal and against metal. And the next thing he knew, he was crouched on the ground, on one knee, holding Lance in his arms, and growling at the room around him. His fist on the ground before him, claw marks extended on the concrete from his once transformed fingers.

His breathing was harsh as he came back to himself, or at least tried to. His body felt heavy and exhausted, his skin was prickling with sweat, and his heart was hammering heavily in his chest. The room was….well, it was in absolute chaos. The barriers and walls that had surrounded Keith in his chair was pushed back, broken and destroyed in many places. There was a sick brownish reddish black splattered on the walls and the glass.

Blood…and something that made his stomach turn.

Oh god, _he could taste it!_

_The blood,_ the bile, the taste of flesh and the flood of…oh god, what the hell was _that_ taste? He desperately didn’t want to think about it, lest he hurl. Instead he focused on the gorgeous man in his arms, wondering just how Lance had gotten there in the first place.

How had _he_ gotten there? Looking back to his chair, he could see it was completely destroyed as well, there were splinters and all sorts of metal shrapnel’s and shards littered on the ground. Well, that explained how he got out of the chair…

Looking down to the precious cargo in his arms, he noticed Lance was shaking, shuddering like a leaf blowing in the wind. His face was buried in Keith’s chest, arms tight around his neck, legs tucked into the space Keith was creating, huddled over him.

**_We and Lancey are safe now;_** Venom’s voice was somewhat of a solace with everything that had happened to him before. Almost losing the alien had caught him off guard. Having him back however, was another thing entirely. On the one hand, he was so glad he had the alien back inside him, healthy and strong, able to protect those around him. But another, much larger part of him took in the carnage around him, the bodies chewed on and broken and bloodied, littering the ground like a mushy pile of…oh god, _what the hell was with that smell?_

“Lance?” Keith asked, afraid of what he was going to find looking up at him, in his arms.

Lance’s shuddering stilled, almost comically. He stiffened and leaned back, peering up at Keith, his eyes wide and filled with so many emotions. His lips were trembling, slick with blood. Keith’s eyes widened and he felt himself lean down, pressing his forehead to the curve of Lance’s neck.

“You okay?” Lance asked, and Keith almost laughed, obscene chuckles escaping his lips as he nuzzled himself deeper into Lance’s warmth.

“ _Me?_ ” He asked, his voice muffled by Lance’s shirt. “Are _you_ okay? What the hell happened?”

Lance leaned away a bit more, placing his hands on Keith’s shoulders and forcing him to look up. Keith let him do it, submissive in Lance’s hold. He looked into Lance’s face, seeing the blood staining his shirt, his skin. Hell, it looked so frightening, yet some sick and twisted part of him was turned on. It was like the feeling he’d get when he saw a hot celebrity walking away from an exploding car, his heart was thudding for a different reason.

“ _You_ happened,” Lance stated, getting up until he was kneeling, yet his grip was still just as tight on Keith’s shoulders. He leaned in closer, though his eyes were still wide and hysterical. “You and Venom,joined forces! There were thugs, man, loads of them, and you went all _Hulk_ and kamikazi’d them! _You!_ Not just Venom, _you!_ ”

What? No, that couldn’t be right.

“God, it was so hot,” he heard Lance murmur under his breath, but he heard his gorgeous lover alright. And it made a small part of him spark with hope. Lance wasn’t scared of him. Even after all of this. He looked around to the absolute massacre around him, the sickening debris. The dust settled in his mind. _That_ could not have been just him.

_Venom?_

**_I helped…a little…_** Venom replied, his voice a sickeningly sweet, like he was proud of what Keith had done to these poor, innocent people – or well, maybe they weren’t so innocent what with the amount of guns and bullets littered about – it was like Venom was…happy. **_Lancey is right, you got so angry that people were shooting at Lancey that you went crazy berserk and we both went through them all! Together, like a team! I am happy, we’re a superhero,_**

“We…we killed them,” Keith breathed out; letting what he had just done wash over him. His mind was still blank, his memories still fuzzy. He knew the moment he was going to remember what happened, he was going to scream and cry and fucking hate everything that made him do this.

"You _saved_ us," Lance replied, reaching up for him.

For right at that moment, looking into Lance’s eyes, seeing the small smile on his lips, he really was glad he had that power, the strength to look after Lance after what was after him. He hated that this was happening to them both. It was all because of _him_ that they were like this.

He wasn’t going to blame Venom. He wouldn’t. This…this massacre around them, this was what Venom was used to. He didn’t know anything else. This was all Keith’s doing. Lance must be so scared of him now.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” Keith stated slowly, grabbing Lance around his waist and dragging him up. Lance nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith and standing, using his boyfriend as a crutch this time.

Keith took one look back at the wreckage _he_ had created, and closed the door to the room. He had Venom back, and though he had no idea where Kolivan was – or if he was among the wreckage. He just knew he had to get out of there.

 

Lance was shuddering again, leaning his face into Keith’s shoulder, wanting to block out the sight he had witnessed. When the men had come in, large assault rifles in their hands, shooting away around them, scaring and taunting them as they screamed words – words that Lance wasn’t able to make out because he was so shocked and scared. And when they saw Keith sitting in the very middle of the room, they had turned their guns to him.

Kolivan had pushed Lance to the side, and he had hit the table behind them head on, busting his lip on the corner and grasping at the blood that trickled out. He had gotten up immediately, wanting to run over to Keith. Why the hell had he been on _this_ side of the wall?

He could hear the deafening screams, sounds of guns being shot, bodies thudding and crashing to the ground. Lance had peered his head up, grimacing as the glass shattered as a body shot through it. He didn’t see Keith in the middle of the room, strapped to the chair as he had been before. But Keith was down on the ground, hands soaked in blood, claws sharp, teeth just as jagged, looking like a feral animal, there was absolute carnage around him.

Keith had gone crazy.

And Lance wanted to go to him. He wasn’t scared – which surprised him – when he saw the last of the guns go off and the last of the men fall to the ground in a heap, he had rushed over to Keith, vaulting over the barrier and straight into his boyfriends arms.

Keith growled, gripping him close, his eyes almost insanely purple. He looked down at Lance, tongue slipping out of his lips and slicking the corner of Lance’s ow mouth. Lance shuddered, but he had kissed Keith back, grimacing at the tang of blood in Keith’s mouth, but sinking into the heat of his boyfriend.

Keith was frightening, so feral and growly.

And that _did_ things to Lance; all sorts of bad, wicked and naughty things.

He wasn’t going to survive a minute longer without Keith by his side. That was for sure. He wasn’t going to leave his feral, alien host of a boyfriend. But right now, as Keith slowly came out of the haze, he had looked shocked, frightened and hot. Lance had shuddered when he saw those eyes, so beautiful and bright, so filled with fear. Something Lance didn’t want to see in them.

He’d show Keith just how _good_ Venom was with him.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, of course I had to catch the stupid flu going around.  
> I blame it on the hospital visits. Sigh.  
> I'm sorry this came so late, but I think you'll be happy.
> 
> Much kissing and overall frottage lay ahead. Be warned, because this is kind of, almost, in a small, mediocre way treated as a bit of a threesome.  
> Kind of.
> 
> Let's just...let things happen, shall we?

Showing Keith the good in having a cannibalistic alien in his head was going to be difficult, Lance figured out.

He should have been worried; hell they _both_ should have been worried. They had people out there wanting to kill them both, wanting to rip out the alien and use it to end the world, most likely. Wasn’t that what the bad guy usually wanted, right?

But he couldn’t stop thinking about _that kiss_. It had made his insides quiver... _ay dios_...

And then it hit him. What better way to show that the alien wasn’t a bad guy who only went after humans by showing Keith just how _good_ Venom was with _him?_ The kiss they had shared had sharp teeth, and even sharper claws, steel band like arms and slick tendrils prodding and poking and sticking all over his skin. Yet they didn’t stray too tight, neither did any of the sharp pointy bits stick in painfully.

Okay, so Lance was being very self-indulgent here – hell, wouldn’t you be when you had someone as gorgeous and pretty as Keith Kogane with you? – but he honestly could not see it any other way. He could see the painful way Keith was looking around him now, especially to their clasped hands. He looked like he wanted to tighten their grip as they made their way across the streets, but at the same time he looked like he wanted to let Lance go and run far and fast – into that god awful shack in the desert he had told him countless of times.

Nope, not going to happen, cutie, not when I’ve only just got you.

So, sure, Lance was thinking with his dick right now, he wasn’t going to deny that one bit. There were probably a multitude of reasons why this was wrong. But when he saw the darkness, and saw the local library building in the near distance, he knew they should head there. If it hit on one of his many fantasies about Keith Kogane, then well...he wasn't going to stop it.

Gripping Keith’s hands tighter, he hurried up onto the front steps, taking in the brisk evening. He motioned for Keith through the side door. He knew this place was open well into the night; he had come here many times when he had been studying. So the librarian pretty much knew him. They stepped inside.

The dim light was casting shadows everywhere. Lance tugged Keith down the centre aisle between the long tables where there were two lamps sitting in the middle, letting out a buttery yellow glow. He could just make out the stained glass window behind him, depicting some kind of angel or goddess, or something. He really didn’t know, and he never had a reason to find out what it was. He knew this place had once been a church long ago, but that didn’t matter right now.

He spied the librarian sitting at the reference desk and nodded to her. She looked up at him, surprised to see he was here, but then she nodded to him, letting out a small smile, and went back to reading her book.

Good. He didn’t want her getting involved.

Lance dragged Keith to the back of the large library, where he knew it was quiet and that the librarian wouldn’t bother them – she never usually did. He pushed back at a few book shelves, feeling the give, and smirked when one slid in an arc. This was the place he had loved coming to, the place not many people knew about.

The archway nook the old librarian had created for kids and other serious book worms – like himself, though the librarian had hid it well – was small, filled with flourescent coloured bean bags, and a few small bookshelves, a few lamp lights and a homey looking carpet underneath. He motioned for Keith to enter it. Inside was a small area surrounded by the walls of the back of the books shelves with smaller bookshelves lining the bottom.

He pushed Keith onto the bean bag chair in the corner and smiled. There was something so different about Keith right now, he looked so delectable. A rush of hunger flooded Lance’s body, and he reprimanded himself for that. This was not the time to think about _that_ when they were hiding away from the bad guys.

Or was it?

Keith obviously needed a distraction, what with the way he was trembling. And what better way to distract him than with a little bit of a make out session? Lance had never really seen Keith bring anyone back home in all the years he had known him. Keith worked like clockwork, going out in the morning and coming back just after Lance did. And Lance was the same. There had ever been another, or a lover. Then again, who’d need someone else when they had Keith freaking Kogane living next door?

But he was digressing.

Though saying that, it seemed Venom had his mind set on Lance as well, which, okay, so that was definitely a confidence booster for Lance, he wasn’t going to deny that. It was such an amazing rush to know someone like Keith wanted him. It had been such a long time since Lance let himself have the pleasure of another, and though Keith was seductive when just sitting there on the fluorescent pink bean bag chair, muttering something to himself – most likely talking to Venom – he knew there was something there that made Lance want to just throw himself on the man and kiss the very living breath out of him _and the alien!_

God, why was he torturing himself this way?

He closed his eyes, and let out a breath; though his imagination wandered to such heights.

“Why are we here, Lance?” Keith asked, and Lance forced himself to pay attention. But god, Keith looked so pretty, Lance couldn’t help but imagine running his hands all over that body. Keith would be surprised, of course he would, but he would smile softly, falling into the steel strength of his arms as they circled his waist, tightening until Keith’s body was pressed up against his.

"Laying low until the bad guys leave?" He said hesitantly. God, he wanted to lick and suck on Keith’s neck, to bruise the pale skin there. He bet Keith tasted salty and sweet, and the noises he would make, the thrill of his gasping breath as Lance bit down on his flesh, glad for the give.

Keith had the body of a fighter beneath the shapeless clothes he usually wore. Take away the red cropped jacket he frequently wore, and Lance could imagine it all so well. He had felt that body in his arms a few times, so he knew Keith was strong, lithe and filled out. His skin was luminous, perhaps it was the way he would curve his mullet hair to the side in his shyness, as if he were allowing Lance to press kisses on his skin.

He opened his eyes and saw Keith sitting there, looking so utterly lovely, and so sweet. He was always so rough on the outside, but Lance had seen him be so kind, helping the old lady down their hallway, smiling at Mrs. Petrakis’s kids on the fourth floor.

He thought, in the middle of the room, alone and hidden from everyone, that Keith was perfect. Even with the heavy strain in his eyes. He wanted to help; he wanted to stay with Keith for as long as the man would allow him to.

His thoughts were a faraway fantasy; he didn’t permit himself to actually go about doing the things he fantasised about. This was just some kind of self-flagellation, longing for his neighbour from a distance.

Though they had kissed…

 

Keith tried to focus on his breathing, his heart rate was through the roof, especially now, locked away in this book nook, sitting on a comfortable bean bag chair. Lance was just standing there, staring at him, and he was…oh god.

**_Keithy…we are alone with Lancey._ **

Yes, they were, weren’t they? They were in this lovely, little secluded spot. There was a window high up that shone a brilliant light into their little space, illuminating it enough that he could clearly see the deep red hue painting Lance’s cheeks. He wanted to lick him.

**_Can we take Lancey? Please? Just a little bite…he tastes nice._ **

_No Venom._ Though he loathed thinking it; Keith had to focus. Hell, they all had to focus. There were people after them, people with guns and knives, people who would kill them all without a second thought. _He_ had brought Lance into this mess. He didn’t dare think about what would happen to the gorgeous Cuban neighbour.

He could still taste Lance’s sweetness on his tongue. And Venom urging him for more was not helping.

 ** _He brought us here. He wants to fuck us too._** Keith shuddered, there had to be a little bit of truth to that right? Why would Lance bring him here of all places?

“No, Ven,” He muttered quietly, reprimanding himself for agreeing with the alien in his head. “He brought us here because it’s safe.”

**_Uh huh, you can’t lie to me Keithy; I’m in your head._ **

_Ain’t that the truth?_

There was no use in denying just what this moment was doing to them both. Keith had fallen for Lance. They hadn’t really talked much, and maybe that had been a part of why Keith liked him so much. Lance never demanded anything from him, just a polite exchange of pleasantries as they passed one another in the hallway. But at the same time, Keith had felt an attraction to him, and something more…

It was like an affinity for him.

Lance was always so charming, so lovely and sweet, and youthful. It was endearing for someone like Keith who had a ticking time bomb on his head – **_no more_** Venom reminded him **_–_** and the way he looked, with his caramel coffee skin, his sort spiky hair styled just so, and those ocean like blue eyes.

Keith tried to focus on his breathing again. Though the small space they had taken was slowly being over taken by the sandy sea scent that made Lance. What the hell was he going to do? His anxiety was getting worse lately too, what with the alien sitting pleasantly in his head again. Breathing was helping him stave them off.

Venom was back, after all. He was there, like a warm presence, like a blanket over his body. He never wanted to lose his alien again. They had bonded so quickly, what with everything happening around them. And Venom had saved him and Lance on so many occasions.

The head eating thing was still…eurgh.

He had been so miserable, always thinking he was alone in the world, only his small talked with Lance, the following day dreams (where he’d pretend he had pushed Lance into his apartment and then kissed him sweetly, softly and soundly,) and his frequent visits to the doctors gave him any semblance of social pleasure anymore.

**_Oh…yes…_ **

His most recent daydream had certainly proved to be a pleasure, but it also left him with a sense of longing as well. They always revolved around Lance. He glanced over to the man, seeing Lance sitting on the plush bean bag chair opposite him, thinking to himself.

There was no one else in the library, just them. He imagined walking up to Lance, his hand on the uniform material of his jacket, startling him out of his revere. He smiled down at Lance and in one fluid motion he’d be straddling over him.

“We’re alone,” he spoke, leaning down and pressing their lips together as they should be, he’d grab for Lance’s shoulders, dragging his hands slowly down Lance’s back and then to his neck, gasping and moaning into his sweet mouth when Lance would wrap his arms around Keith’s waist, grabbing his hips and grinding up _just so_.

“Stop Venom,” Keith gasped.

Lance looked up, startled. “You okay?”

Keith’s cheeks burst a bright pink, but he nodded. Instead, he turned to the books on the shelves, busying himself with reading the titles. If they were going to be stuck here for a while – for whatever reason they were _here_. Then again, they didn’t have anywhere else to go. They couldn’t go to Lance’s home, and his place was trashed. The police would just laugh at them, and Pidge and Hunk were already in so deep, Shiro didn't need to be bothered with this, he had a future with his fiance, he didn't need to babysit Keith and his little alien – he was going to try and force the thoughts Venom was shoving into his mind.

 ** _“Oh, you both are going to be the death of me,”_** Venom’s voice came out of Keith’s lips, and Keith’s eyes widened. He held a hand to his mouth, trying to stop the slew of thoughts rushing out. **_“If you both don’t fuck, I’m going to do it for you,”_**

Oh shit.

 

Lance found himself wrapped in strong, starry black arms, slowly slinking around his waist and dragging him from his spot on the other side of the room and towards Keith, until their bodies were pressed tightly together. Shaken, he braced himself in Keith’s arms, one knee between his two, bringing them so closely pressed together.

“I am so sorry,” Keith gasped, looking up into his darkened eyes. “I know you don’t want this, but _somebody_ won’t listen to reason,

Lance drew in a sharp breath, feeling the adrenaline flood his body. “What makes you think I don’t want this?”

 ** _See? Told you!_** Keith took hold of Lance's face, gaze penetrating and strong. “You tell me to stop if we go too far,”

Lance’s eyelids drooped, lips parting, and he nodded. He _liked_ this side of Keith, the hot and demanding part of him that made his insides quake. He felt Keith’s breath as the man ducked down to claim his mouth. Oh yes, this was just what Lance wanted. They fell back onto the plush of the bean bag, and Lance felt those thick and slick black hands on his back, another set of tendrils running to his ass and caressing the curves as Keith pulled him tighter against him.

Oh, Lance knew this was going to be a memorable experience.

Keith’s tongue parted his lips and dipped inside, longer than he had anticipated - then again Lance had seen Venom’s tongue, had _dreams_ about that tongue. - He groaned when one of Keith’s hands slipped in through the waistband of his jeans and deftly curled around his hardened cock. He gasped, mouth slick with heat and that _tongue,_ at those tendrils slinking a tight circle along with Keith’s larger hand.

He was going to faint, and it was getting harder to breathe. Oh fuck, this was so good… _holy crap!_

“Good,” he gasped, unable to think of anything else. He keened Keith’s name, pressing his need into that wicked mouth.

Keith was cradling his head, brushing his lips so softly against his own, tongue slick and saliva hot as he lathed at the roof of Lance’s mouth. Lance cried, aching for it to go in deeper. He closed his mouth over it, sucking on it. Oh, the sound coming from Keith’s lips was a blessing. He was swimming with the power coursing through his veins at the sight of Keith, strong, powerful, perfect Keith losing it.

All the nervousness and anxiety melted away, he felt strong, clear headed and that kiss, those hands, that scent, it all felt so right. His skin felt alive, lightning coursing through him, luscious and hot. He opened his eyes, needing to look at the man who was making him feel like this. Keith's purple eyes were half lidded, cheeks flushed, and Lance felt the hunger course through him.

He wanted more.

With a swift move of his hips, he grounded down onto Keith's hard cock, groaning when he felt the large and intense heat of the man. His fingers slipped up, flicking in through the shirt and up his abdomen.

“God, this is better than my dreams,” he groaned, voice rasping against that tongue.

Keith’s eyebrows went up, and he pulled away. “What?”

Lance smirked, looking directly into those eyes. “Well duh, of course I’ve imagined us doing all sorts of things for a very long time, samurai,”

Keith rolled the nickname ‘samurai’ in his mouth. What in the world? That couldn’t be possible, could it? Did Lance actually want Keith the same way he wanted Lance?

“Even with…” he pointed to his head for effect, at Venom who had taken to cradling the back of Keith’s head again, like some weird kind of thick collar.

"Even with," Lance reached up and dragged his nails along the black skin of Venom, smirking when he saw those eyes turn up at the corner, and those fangs appear in Keith’s teeth. Oh yes, he wasn’t scared of this man, of this alien. He wanted more.

Keith reached for his hands, taking the right one and bringing it to his lips, pressing a kiss to his palm in a courtly gesture, and then grazing those so sharp teeth against his wrists. Lance felt a ripple of heat pass through his body. He knew what those teeth could do, had seen it first hand, yet Keith was kissing him so softly.

“I’m not afraid of you,” he stated slowly, looking Keith directly in his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, so you better kiss me,”

Keith hesitated, looking into those eyes for a smidgen of doubt, of lies, but he found nothing but such love, such care. He let his hands side from Lance’s arm, dragging his fingers sweetly along Lance’s arms, his shoulders, and down his sides, smirking when Lance shuddered, mouth open in a heavy breathed gasp. Keith gripped his hips and Lance moaned enthusiastically.

That spurred Keith on; he could see Lance wasn’t afraid. He leaned up, pressing their lips together again, just a barely there caress.

“ ** _You taste so sweet, Lancey,”_** Venom’s voice made Lance shudder, and Keith felt it in his bones. Lance really wasn't scared.

Lance pushed him back against the plush of the bean bags, smirking and pouncing on him. He crowded Keith’s body, rubbing against him the sweetest and filthiest of moves, fingers grasping at his shirt, tugging the fabric and pressing kiss among kiss on that pale skin.

The intense emotions and sensations coursed through Keith, his desire released and echoing against Lance’s own, speeding up into immeasurable heights. Keith swore he saw stars as Lance’s teeth dug into his hip.

In a swift move, Keith sat up and spun Lance until he was lying on the plush. He wasn’t about to let Lance get away with doing all the work. Thick, black tendrils sprouted from his skin, siding from the back of his neck and down his arms, like water spraying down to his fingers.

He gave Lance a look, asking for permission. Lance looked up into his eyes, nodding and watching as those tendrils slinked into his own skin. The too hot and yet not hot enough feel was overwhelming as he watched the tendrils spread over his arms, over his shoulders, down his body and right to where Lance really wanted him.

Keith’s hot breath against his ear made him keen. “Do you want me to stop?”

Lance grinned, “You stop now, and I’ll take Venom’s request to take over and fuck me,”

Keith’s eyes widened. He growled, pinning Lance’s hands over his head, trapping him in his place. Keith leaned down, lips ghosting over his skin, breath fanning on the curve of his neck as Keith moved over him. Those tendrils moved as well, like a slick wave over his skin. The tendrils stayed in place, keeping Lance’s hands above his head, as Keith’s fingers tripped along his arms, mouth moving and tongue slicking his shoulders, caressing over his nipples, curling along the tautness and relentlessly flicking this way and that as he moved down.

Lance bucked up, unable to take all of these sensations. So much, too much. _Ay dios mio!_  Keith’s mouth muttered words along his skin, murmurs of praises wound with the lazy pattern of his tongue, almost tickling his skin as their joined feelings reverberated across his skin. He felt everything at his very core, his cock straining around those tightened tendrils curling and slinking up and down in such precise moves, keeping Lance at the precipice but not letting him tumble over.

“ ** _We are Venom,”_** he murmured, and Lance could hear both Keith and Venom’s voice. **_“You think you can take us?”_**

Oh god, he was panting, eyes closed tightly, arms held tight but his legs twisted this way and that, finding purchase around Keith’s waist, dragging him in closer, shuddering in heavenly torture. Keith’s touch amped up the tension in his body to the point where he didn’t know whether he was going to orgasm or go insane.

He found himself breathing heavily, and shuddering as those fingers found purchase under his jeans and to his cock. He wasn’t sure what to do; it was hard to think with those hands, those tendrils on him, those eyes watching him. He felt so spent, even though he hadn’t come yet, he looked up into Keith’s face and found lust and love, a hungry predator.

Not one to back from something he desperately wanted. He rocked his hips up, pressing them to the thick heat that was Keith's cock, and grinned.

“I’ll take everything,” The words barely left his lips, his hands clutching at the material under him as Keith moved against him, again and again. Holy crap. He grunted and groaned, gasping for breath. And then Keith moved up, pressing a wicked, wicked kiss to his lips. Lance felt like every nerve was on fire, his orgasm exploding from him, ripping through his body in waves of pure heaven.

He fell back onto the plush, unable to think, unable to breathe. Keith’s kisses lessened until they were just pressed together in a scant breath of air, breathing in each other. Those tendrils were slow to move from him as well; slinking and sliding down from his arms and back to their place inside Keith.

“Well…” Lance groaned his throat sore from their kisses and that powerful orgasm he just went through. “You’ve ruined me for anyone else,”

Keith let out a ragged breath, his arms immediately tightening around Lance’s body. The thought of someone else with Lance making him feel sick to his stomach.

“I love you,” he gasped, his eyes widened with shock as soon as he said it.

Lance reached for him, pressing a chaste kiss to his bruised lips, knowing his own probably looked worse – that tongue man, it was something else entirely – and smiled softly.

“I love you too,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry?  
> That tongue though...
> 
> Alright, folks...I'm going to crawl back into bed and let the flu take over again.  
> Sorry if I miss a few days, this flu is ninja kicking me in the face.


	26. Chapter 26

Sendak took a sweet moment to suck in the fresh air surrounding him, before stepping into the large building that made Galra Tech.

He could already feel the heady thickness that surrounded the lower private laboratory, it got heavier and heavier as he descended down the lifts. Swiping his card once again to open the door, he let out a breath when he saw the complete commotion happening in the hallway.

That stupid guard had caused a lot of problems, and now there were police officers littered all over the building. Sendak knew exactly what had happened, but he just didn’t know who had done it. Who had access into the lab, and stayed there long enough to get in, open the isolation chamber, take the symbiote – without getting eaten by it – and then leave without batting an eyelash.

There had to be some kind of genius at work, or some kind of idiot who got lucky. The only people who had been in and out that night had been himself, the night guard and that little glasses one and that massive marshmallow.

Those two idiots were not clever enough to do something like this. And they wouldn’t jeopardise their jobs over something that they had seen first hand would eat them.

And anyway, they had only been there for a total of ninety seconds. Sendak had tried himself to swipe into the room, wait for it to open, get inside, get to the isolation chamber, open it and get to the symbiote, close the doors and get back out. It had taken him five minutes tops, and he moved very quickly. And that was all without the added need to coerce a frightening symbiote.

And that was another thing, just how had they got the symbiote out?

It couldn’t survive outside of the chamber. The others they had taken had all withered away as soon as they touched oxygen. It was why they had created this vast chamber for the last symbiote they had, it was also why Dr. Zarkon was so interested in creating a symbiotic bond with the alien and the humans.

Who had the smarts, and the time, to create something that would not only allow the symbiote respite from the atmosphere around them, but also have enough trust to let the symbiote actually leave the safety of the chamber and out into the world?

Did that mean whoever took it was the one who was compatible with it?

No, that couldn’t have been possible. They had checked every one of the employees that were given access to the symbiote, and to every employee that worked with them too. Zarkon had been adamant that there was someone out there, close by, who was one hundred percent compatible with the symbiote.

It seemed Zarkon was right.

Because how else would the symbiote had gotten out? The chamber that held the alien was still inside, sitting there, empty and barren of anything. The cameras had shown nothing after the guards had swapped over. There had been nothing at all to see, just a blank dark room illuminated a little by the down set lights, and nothing else.

…wait a minute.

Maybe they had gotten to the cameras?

If the asshole who had taken the alien was smart enough, they would have tampered with the video feed, both outside and inside the chambers. That made perfect sense. Sendak turned from the hectic chaos of the hallway and made his way back to the lifts and back up to the security room on the ground floor. 

He was going to get to the bottom of this. Taking his time, he didn’t want to look suspicious, he pushed the door to the security room open and saw a young man sitting on a large spinning chair, his feet on the desk, slurping a drink propped up on his chest.

He jumped when he saw Sendak towering behind him, slipping his feet down and almost dropping the drink.

“Mr. Sendak,” the young man said, placing his drink onto the desk and wiping at his mouth. “What brings you all the way here?”

Sendak narrowed his gaze, but forced on a smile. “I need to see the footage of the private labs,”

“But, Mr. Sendak, I had given that to the police,” The young man continued, he shuddered when the larger man crossed his arms over his chest. “I think I have the footage for the lifts, however,”

Sendak raised an eyebrow, motioning silently for the young man to continue. The man stood up suddenly, but he didn’t get very far, the wires to his headphones jerked him back to his seat. Letting out a hesitant chuckle, he placed the headphones from his head and onto the desk with his drink.

He forced a smile on his lips when he looked up at Sendak, but then quickened his pace, going to another screen and typing away at the small keyboard underneath. A few quick moments passed and Sendak looked up at the screen to see himself leaving the night of the break in. He growled, motioning for the man to forward the tape. The man nodded, and turned the dial, moving the video a little quicker.

He watched as the guards came in, two people making out as the lifts rose, and another person weeping in the corner before he finally saw the minutes prior to the break in. And that was also when he saw the little scientist with the large glasses. She was holding onto all sorts of things in her hands, fumbling and bumbling as the lifts ascended. She reached the top floor, and then made a motion to a manilla folder in her hands. She flattened her palm to her forehead and pressed the button back down to the private labs.

Swiping her card, the door to the lifts had opened for her, and she promptly dropped everything in her hands as she walked out of the lifts. He got a good look at her pert ass, before she crawled out of the lifts.

Sendak sighed, wishing he could follow her to wherever she was trying to go. Though he knew it was pointless, that little thing was an idiot, she could never have stolen such a prized possession from the laboratories.

But he didn’t let her off. He swiped through his tablet, going through the workers until he had found her face and her credentials. Katie Holt. Swiping a few more times, and logging into the server, he saw that Katie Holt was in the office right now.

Swiping through her log ins and card swipes, he saw the last time she had swiped in for that night was just before the guards had swapped over. And it was after the guard had swapped over that the crime had taken place, or at least that was what the police officers had said.

Damn it, it couldn’t be her. Could it?

He needed to talk to her. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuun.  
> Sendak knows!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Over 87k in my nanowrimo this year.  
> I am so overjoyed!
> 
> Ahem. Sorry. I got sidetracked.  
> Back to Venom.

They had to be kicked out of the nook they had created for themselves in the library. But even though Lance and Keith’s cheeks were both bursting a bright red, and they were shuddering under the venting gaze of the librarian, when they were finally met by the chilly breeze of the bright night, they fell onto the steps with laughter.

Arms wrapped around one another, tight and close, the two lay on one another as they chuckled and giggled into the night air.

It was such a magical moment for both of them, being caught lying on top of one another, lips pressed together, noses smothered in butterfly kisses. Even right now, sitting together in the cold night, leaning on one another on the concrete stairs, just breathing in one another as they just stared up at the starry skies, Keith couldn’t help but think this was all just so magical.

It sucked that something just had to come and fuck it all up.

As the night grew long, and the librarian locked up behind them, tutting at them and motioning for them to go home, Keith and Lance stood hand in hand on the empty streets. The moon and the buttery streetlight the only light between them as they leaned closer to one another, lips still kiss bruised as they pressed together.

**_Lancey is finally ours, Keithy. What is happening? This is all so very nice, my heart is fluttering, what is this Keithy?_ **

_“Magic,”_ Keith murmured into Lance’s mouth, grinning. They broke away, if only to take a few breaths, foreheads pressed together. Now that Keith finally had Lance, he didn’t want to let the man go for even a second.

“Where to mullet?” Lance asked, with a chuckle. His cheeks were still flushed red, but his eyes were shining, half lidded. There were fireflies pricking at his skin with just how soft he looked. The hazy feeling was back in Keith’s eyes, and he figured this meant that Venom was seeing for him. That Venom was just as happy as he was.

“We can’t go to our place,” Keith stuttered at calling their building ‘our place’, but he couldn’t help but grin. His face fell however, when he thought about their predicament. “Pidge and Hunk are out of the question now too, it’s best to let them lay low for now. Shiro is out, he won’t understand,”

“Want to go to my sisters instead?” Lance asked, slipping their hands tighter together, lacing their fingers. “It’s not too far, we can walk there,”

Ah yes, they couldn’t go back to the building Kolivan had taken them too. Even in the distance Keith could spot the flashing blue and red lights on the streets. He didn’t know just what the police would think of the carnage they had left there. But he could also see a large white van with a familiar logo on the side. Galra Tech.

Their car was probably going to be part of the police report, Keith was sure of that. But if they could stay away long enough, maybe they could work out a way to stop all of this from landing on their feet. How the hell were they going to explain what happened without bringing Venom into the equation?

It had been a good idea to go to the library, after all no one stayed close to the scene of the crime after something like that.

Keith nodded, tightening his grip on Lance’s hand and turning as Lance motioned to the street. “Lead the way,”

The streets were a little chilly as they huddled together, walking down the pavement and turning the corners. On the outside, they just looked like regular lovers after a date. But Venom was sitting pretty cradling the back of Keith’s head, murmuring whimsically about flustered hearts and butterflies in his stomach.

**_Keithy, I think there’s something wrong with us,_ **

At Keith’s chuckle, Lance looked up, intrigued. “What did he say?”

“Venom doesn’t really understand that he’s in love,” he said with a bright smile.

Lance’s heart warmed, his cheeks flushing red at the thought. He had never expected both Keith _and_ Venom to love him. Sure they were pretty much the same person, but they were two shocking personalities. One an alien symbiote and the other his neighbour. To think Venom actually loved him too?

Lance’s heart was fit to burst.

“Really?” he replied, waggling his eyebrow suggestively. “Of course, you can’t get enough of the good stuff,”

Keith rolled his eyes, but stuttered when the black tendrils on his arms retreated from his fingers and slapped at Lance’s ass, making a startled gasp come out of Lance’s mouth.

Keith’s eyes widened, and he grumbled at Venom. “ _You can’t just do that out in the open,_ ” He looked at Lance sheepishly. “Sorry,”

Lance shook his head, holding back the bubble of a giggle that was want to escaping his lips. This was such an odd relationship that was for sure. Something so new and exciting, yet at the same time frightening.

“No problem,” he replied, slipping his hands around Keith’s waist, grabbing his hips and drawing him close. He leaned down a little to Keith’s height, breath hot against his ear. “I kind of like it,”

**_“You’re not going to make it home,”_** Venom’s voice was thundering yet quiet as he replied back to Lance.

Lance’s eyes widened, but he chuckled. “We won’t be doing any of that in my sisters’ house, dude,”

Keith actually pouted. Gods, that was so adorable. But he nodded. Lance’s sisters’ house was probably going to be ten times better than any of the others houses. It wasn’t like they could go to Shiro, the man already had so much on his plate, what with work and planning for the wedding, and now this? The less he knew the better.

They turned another street and were finally at a small and quaint looking house. Lance motioned Keith in through the small wooden gates and into the white three story town house.  He knocked on the door, letting out a breath and waiting for his sister to open.

Keith looked around as much as he could, taking in the beautiful house and feeling a sense of familiarity as he stood there with Lance.

“Wait…” he murmured, noticing the large black car in the driveway next to a small pink one. “This is…”

Allura looked frazzled as she opened the door. Her hair that was usually in a neat bun on her head was in a long and soft looking tumble all the way to her waist. Her eyes were a little red, and raw from her having rubbed them.

“Oh my god, Lance, Keith! Where the hell have you been?” she cried, reaching out for them both and dragging them into the house. “Don’t ever do that again!”

Oh no…if Allura was here, then that meant that…

Shiro stood in the doorway leading into the cosy looking living room Keith remembered from all those years back when he had visited Shiro’s girlfriends’ house. Shiro’s hands were crossed tightly to his chest, eyes narrow and eyebrows knitted together.

“Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

Ah…crap…

 

Pidge was pacing in the living room of Hunk’s house.

Hunk sat on his sofa, watching as she moved back and forth, trying to come up with something that would help them out. But in his nervousness, his mind was drawing a blank.

Zarkon had called him in that day, asking him all sorts of intrusive questions about the night they had taken Venom. Though Zarkon still didn’t know _they_ had taken the alien, or how, the questions were more revolved around why _he_ was there that night.

Hunk had told Zarkon that he was just dropping Pidge home, they lived close by and Pidge had been tired that night. So he had kindly offered, because they were good friends. When asked what Pidge was doing, Hunk had flustered.

And it stung him, because he did not want to put Pidge under the bus. If she was going to go down, then so was he. Team Punk all the way. So he had lied, telling them that Pidge had been working late for something for him, something that he wanted to give his girlfriend for their anniversary. A present, he had said, a perfectly made and properly sentimental present. Something that Pidge’s small lab in her office was able to produce.

It worked, surprisingly, and it also gave Pidge an out for why she had been busy in her office all those late nights – though in reality she had been creating the chamber they had used to house Venom when they took him.

He tripped up though, when Zarkon asked him to _show_ this lab built present. He had told Zarkon that he would, but he had to get it _from_ his girlfriend first, but he could take a picture of it and show it to him.

“What are we going to do?” He asked, whining a little as he squished the cushion on his lap to his chest.

Pidge shook her hand at him, motioning for him to quiet while she thought about what she was going to do. This was going to be difficult. How could they come up with a---

“Oh my god, I’ve got it,” Pidge smirked, straightening out her large round glasses and smirking. “Remember when Shiro came to us a few months back asking for that extra special jewellery he wanted?”

“You mean the engagement ring?” Hunk’s eyes widened. “He’s not going to let us borrow that!”

Pidge grinned. “Oh, I think he will,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shiro doesn't seem to happy about this, and what exactly is going to happen to Pidge and Hunk?


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all you beautiful people~!  
> Guess what? I'm on my way to a full recovery!  
> Losing literally a scrape of my brain because of lasers was an absolutely awful feeling, and the side effects are going to be a spectacular kick to the crotch.   
> But I am recovering, and am back baby!
> 
> You're not getting rid of me just yet!
> 
> But enough about me, lovelies.  
> Let's get to why you're really here!

Sitting like this opposite Shiro reminded Keith of when he had first met the man all those years ago. It had been his first real appointment after his fatal fall during his exams. He had woken up in a hospital bed, worried out of his mind that something had happened to him, something life threatening, that when he saw Shiro looming over him, looking at something or another next to him, he had immediately gotten up and out of the bed.

After the initial shock, and figuring out where he was and what had happened to him, he had sat opposite Shiro, forced down onto the chair, eyes downcast, fingers fidgeting on his lap and heart hammering in his chest. He felt like he was about to be told the bad news all over again.

But then again, this was Shiro. And though he was sitting there, arms crossed over his chest and eyes narrowed; he looked more confused and worried, more so than angry and disappointed.

Keith felt a little crestfallen. He really wasn’t sure how he was going to explain just what was happening with him and Venom. Shiro had seen him when Venom had tried to claw back into him, and he had seen that the tumour had disappeared.

So of course he wanted to know just what was happening to Keith to make something that was life threatening pretty much disappear away so quickly. It had been a miracle for Keith, though there was definitely something morbid about having a killer alien inside him.

Lance’s hand squeezing his thigh was a little bit of a solace, enough to bring Keith back from his hellish nightmare thoughts and to the fact that yes, this was Shiro, he was like a brother. He wasn’t going to leave, not like everyone else did.

No, Keith was not going to think about _that_ right now.

“Well?” Shiro prompted, sounding more like a father than a brother.

Keith took in a brave breath and let it out. “I don’t know how to tell you this,”

Shiro didn’t look like he was going to let any of this go. And Keith knew he just had to tell him everything, regardless of how freaky and morbid it was. So he did, he told Shiro everything that had happened – except for his and Lance’s time in the library, that was strictly for the two of them alone. – All the way down to him eating the heads off guards and chowing down on them.

He shuddered, unable to get the taste out of his head, or from his tongue.

Looking up, he saw Shiro eyeing him with a strain in his gaze. It looked like he was trying his very best to believe him, but he wasn’t fully there yet.

“I believe you,” Shiro said, loosening his grip on his arms and dropping them to his lap, he scratched the back of his head, giving Keith a tilted smile. “But I just can’t see you killing anyone,”

“It _wasn’t_ Keith who killed all of those people,” Lance added, holding his hands up in the air for extra emphasis. “It was Venom!”

Keith dropped his head to his hands, letting out a loud sigh. “Lance, I _am_ Venom…or at least, Venom and me are one person,”

And that hurt, because though he knew Venom had been the ones to kill and eat those bad guys, leaving their bodies for the police to try and figure out; Keith hadn’t tried to stop him. Keith had let it happen, he had let Venom do all of it.

So, he was the one that had eaten all of those people, alongside Venom. His tongue burst in the memory of the meaty, sickening flavour, and he groaned.

Lance turned to Keith, reaching up and taking his head in his slim hands. He looked directly into Keith’s eyes, seeing the fear and hate in them. “You _did not eat them,”_

**_“Lancey…was eating them…bad?”_** Venom asked, taking over Keith’s voice.

Lance ignored Shiro’s gasp and instead focused on Keith. He looked into those eyes, watching as they lifted up in the corners as Venom slowly took over Keith’s body. He did not let go of Keith’s face, even when the tendrils started slinking out from the back of Keith’s head and spiralled up Lance’s fingers, ticking the back of his hand. The heat was surprisingly welcoming.

“Venom…you didn’t do anything _bad,_ just…you’re more of an anti-hero,” Lance replied _,_ not really knowing how to put this. On the one hand, what Venom had been doing was very bad, but on the other hand, Venom was like a child when it came to things like this. It was best not to get the alien mad, who know what a symbiote with a tantrum acted like. 

**_What is an anti-hero?_ **

“Kind of like a good guy who isn’t a typical good guy hero,” Keith answered, gaze not breaking from Lance’s pure sea blues. He ached to lean forward and press a kiss to Lance’s lips, but knew not to right now, not in front of Shiro.

Wait, damn, Shiro.

He gazed up at the man, seeing those eyes wide and mouth agape. He knew he probably looked like a monster right now – more so than what he looked like before in the hospital, but at least back then people believed it was a rash – this was Shiro seeing him for what he truly was now, him and Venom together as one. He was so glad Lance was with him, Lance was sitting by him, touching him, keeping him grounded, because right then, looking into Shiro’s eyes, he felt like a small child ready to cry.

Keith hiccupped. “Sh-Shiro?”

Shiro seemed to break out of his trance and was quick to round the coffee table between them and took hold of Keith’s arm, dragging him up from the sofa and looking into his eyes. He saw the way they were tilted up, saw the pure whites, he even saw the slightly sharper teeth.

“This…Venom…” Shiro started, hoping he was saying the name properly, he had remembered the black tar like this coming out of Keith in the MRI room, though he hadn’t seen what it was, only through the radioactive monitor, he got a good look at Keith right now. “He was the one that took care of the tumour?”

Keith nodded.

“Could you…” Shiro paused, eyes drifting this way and that all over Keith’s face, taking everything in. “Could you tell him, thank you?”

Keith’s eyes widened, filling with a wet glimmer of hope and he smiled. Shiro nodded, wrapping his arms around Keith and pulling him in for a tight hug. He patted at the back of Keith’s head, body stiffening when he felt the thick black star like skin at the base of his skull, but he didn’t let that get to him. Venom had saved Keith, and though he had his own ways, he had saved his brother, he had saved Keith.

They broke apart when they heard a whimper coming from the kitchen. Turning, the three saw Allura standing in the archway leading to the kitchen, holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her tears. Before she was able to speak, the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” she hiccupped, wiping away her tears on her long sleeves and making her way towards the door. She opened it and smiled when she saw Pidge and Hunk standing on the other side, huddling close together and muttering something to one another.

“…can’t just ask her,” Hunk murmured, rolling his eyes. “We got to have more tact,”

“Oh, hey Allura,” Pidge said suddenly, looking up at the tall white haired woman standing before her. She held her hand out, palms up. “Can we have your engagement ring?”

Allura’s eyes widened a hand to her mouth as she gasped. She turned to Shiro; her eyes wet with unshed tears, and wrapped her arms around him.

She giggled, rubbing her forehead to his broad shoulders. “You were going to propose to me?”

Shiro looked down at her in shock, unsure of what to do or say, he had planned the proposal out to the letter, and yet these two kids came and ruined the surprise. Looking up, he glared at the two as they entered the room, but he couldn’t really stay mad at them.

“Cats out of the bag,” he sighed.

 

Pidge gazed at the pretty ring sitting in Allura’s hand. She smirked at the work she had done to it, remembering making it out of the fallen star she had taken from Galra Tech Sentries who had initially gone into space to get what she now knew was the symbiote inside Keith.

It hadn’t been malleable, and it hadn’t been all that big, so she had had to work fast and work hard to create something worthy for her friends. She was quite proud of her work. The star itself was metallic, with a shine that only a star could show.

“You can’t possibly want to take this,” Allura was pouting, and she looked adorable doing so. She held the ring in her palm, curling her fingers around it.

Shiro had tried to be sweet and wonderful when he had given it to her, murmuring how he had everything planned for her, it was supposed to be perfect. But now that she already knew, and the two needed it so they didn’t get fired, or go to jail, he had gotten down on one knee, holding the ring in his hands, and had asked her sweetly.

“Allura, will you marry me,”

It would have been sweetly, if it hadn’t been for the four children he called his family gathered around him and Allura, some holding back tears and some almost blubbering – Lance… -- but he had seen just how beautiful Allura looked, as she leaned down and took the ring, slipping it onto her finger and reaching down to kiss the ever loving life out of Shiro.

He let it go. He could always take her out to celebrate properly later.

“You’ll get it back,” Pidge promised, holding her hands to her head in a scouts salute.

Allura loathed letting it go, but she took one last look at the ring and gave it to Pidge. Holding her hand to her lips, she watched as Pidge placed the ring into the small leather pouch it had come out of and wished she could wave goodbye to it.

They had to keep their family out of trouble, so letting go of something like this wasn’t going to be too hard. It was more about the man standing next to her, the man she had agreed to stay with for the rest of her life. She reached out for Shiro, wrapping her fingers in his, and smiled.

He was worth the extra wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...hehehehehehehe...
> 
> Sorry to all you Shallura lovers, I hope this wasn't too much of an annoyance for you. The sweetness will happen soon.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your well wishes.
> 
> Warning!  
> Kinda a little bit threesome-ish.

“As you can see,” Hunk said, carefully showing Allura’s shiny, new and extremely expensive looking engagement ring to Sendak. “This is what I had asked Pidge to do for me,”

He had barely gotten a step into the office before the Sendak had called for him. On the one hand, he had wanted to stay as far away from this job for now, especially after breaking and entering into a private lab and stealing Galra Tech property. But if he didn’t show his face to them, if he didn’t act like everything was _normal,_ that would only show his guilty face.

So instead, he had nodded to Axca when she called for him, and followed her to the lower labs, right into Sendak’s office. He had held onto the ring tight in his hands, making sure it was there the entire time. He was not going to face Allura – or gods forbid _Shiro’s_ – wrath if he lost this precious item.

Sendak had sat him down, smiling almost maliciously, though Hunk was sure he was going for something more ‘normal’ and ‘friendly’, it just didn’t work with his face, or his presence. The man was large and in charge whenever Zarkon wasn’t around.  Hunk had not wanted to pass an angry Sendak.

And he hoped he would live to see the outside of this office after Sendak was done with his questioning. He held the ring in his hands, letting Sendak see just what it was, watching it with the eyes of a hawk as Sendak took the ring from his hands and held it up to the light.

“I’m guessing she said yes,” Sendak asked, dropping the ring back into Hunk’s hands.

Hunk’s cheeks burst a bright pink, but he remembered just how happy Allura had looked last night when Shiro had asked for her hand in marriage, and just how glee filled Shiro had been while he had waited for her reply.

“Yeah, that she did,” he said proudly. Though sure it wasn’t _him and Shay_ that had done the whole proposal thing, he was still really happy for Shiro and Allura. So it was so easy for him to show his happiness to Sendak, in hopes that the man thought it was his own happiness, and not that of his friends.

Sendak gave him a look, dragging his gaze up and down Hunk’s body, as if scrutinising him for his worth, and his truth. Hunk stood still, letting him do what he needed to do. Hunk never really was a good liar, he didn’t like dealing with things like that. But this was his best friend and his neighbour’s life at risk here.

They were practically his family. And Hunk would never allow anything happen to his family. So he stood there. Sendak nodded to him, and he let out a sigh. Tightening his grip on the ring, he placed it back in his pocket and made his way out of the room.

 

Sendak watched him leave, his hands gripped into fists at his side. He couldn’t believe what he had just seen. He let out a breath and reached for his phone, dialling a few numbers, he waited for his boss to pick up the phone.

“I know who’s taken the symbiote,” he said, baring the greetings.

 

 

**_Keithy…wake up…Lancey is doing something._ **

_“Huh?”_ Keith was brought out of his deep slumber by Venom’s voice. There wasn’t any alarm, and Keith wasn’t worried at all. He didn’t bother waking up fully, but he opened his eyes anyway. Half way through a bleary gaze, he looked down and saw such a beautiful sight of Lance moving a little, sleepy stirs and gentle, but audible purrs. He couldn’t believe he was allowed to do this. Sure they had only slept, in Lance’s bedroom in Allura’s house.

**_Keithy…_ **

His body was slow to register Lance’s fingertips tenderly sliding up and down his bare back. But he felt the _shlick_ of those nails tickling his skin and it made him shudder.

_“I feel it too…”_

“… _mmm…_ morning babe,” Lance whispered, leaning in close, stretching out a little, arching up into Keith’s awaiting arms. Keith reached for Lance, his own fingers travelling along smooth, coffee coloured skin. Going back to sleep was going to be impossible now,

God, Lance was breath taking in the morning light. Waking up wrapped tightly in each other’s arms, finger tips touching warm bodies, learning one another. It was such a welcomed experience, now that he had it, he really didn’t want to let it go. He wanted to hold onto Lance tighter, refusing to leave him.

Lance murmured something, but Keith hadn’t heard, he was enjoying the warmth he and Venom both desired, snuggled in Lance’s arms. Through the night they had stayed this close, foreheads pressed together, noses kissing, warm fingers touching sensitive skin, mouths barely a kiss away, just a sliver of a touch of lips.

Lance’s hands continued to run down Keith’s skin, caressing the smooth upper back, but his eyes remained firmly closed, the faintest hint of a smile forming on his soft, inviting lips. Keith’s initial hesitation had been trampled by Venom’s dedication in getting what he wanted. And what he wanted, was Lance.

“Are you going to move that hand?” Lance moaned, his plump and pouting lips so close that Keith could feel the steamy flutter of his low breathy voice against his own lips.

_Huh?_ Keith squeezed his hand and felt Lance’s soft and supple skin under his grip.  _Oh...Lance's ass...so soft..._

Usually Keith would have jolted away from Lance and apologised, but today he just smiled sleepily, letting Venom answer for him. **_“Nope,”_**

Lance tightened his grip on Keith’s body, leaning his head forward just that little bit more and kissed Keith, lips turning hungry almost immediately. Keith pushed into the tender kiss, pulling Lance in closer, reaching for more, his mind fluttering with each touch of that smooth and perfect skin on his own.

The kiss was so syrupy slick and tender as Lance pressed into that warm, wet mouth, eager lips moving and running and tuning. He grinned when he felt Keith reciprocate in kind, Venom also coming out to play by sliding hot tendrils all over his body.

“Love you, Keith, Venn,” Lance murmured, over and over again as he kissed his squirming boyfriend. He had promised himself that he would do anything for Keith’s happiness and well being. He was ready to give Keith anything he wanted. Keith’s welfare was his primary concern, and now with slow, lingering kisses in the dawn light, he saw that smile.

But it didn’t matter how much Lance just wanted to leave it at light kisses in the morning before they had to wake up – they were at his sisters’ house after all – looking at Keith like this; his hair a mess, his sleepy, half lidded eyes turned at the corners, mouth blood bruised with their kisses. Their bodies were heated, embraced beneath the sheets. He could feel the ever hot pull and tug of Venom’s black tendrils around his body, rubbing against his skin, cradling his hips, wrapping almost snugly at his hard and hot cock. Lance keened, desperate to have Keith _and_ Venom.

“Still want me to move?” Keith’s voice was a husky whisper against his lips, like a lusty dream. Oh, god. Lance moaned into the heat of Keith’s mouth, the tight hold of Venom wrapped around his cock felt thick, and fleshy, and warm as it moved lazily, pumping and sucking and moving, making Lance's body scream viciously for more.

“You move, and I leave,” Lance threatened, moving quicker now, pushing Keith back and wrapping his thighs around those sinfully wonderful hips. Gasping at the multitude of jolts and twitches searing through his body as Venom’s hold on him tightened, and Keith’s teeth and tongue drove him wild. His mouth was slick with spit, open wide and moaning desperate sounds into Keith’s skin.

He couldn’t think, only feel as all of those sensations screamed at him, bringing him so close to the edge. He panted, body flush, fingers grasping at Keith’s long hair, palms gliding over his bare back all the way down to his hips, his ass.

Keith gasped, eyes wide as he looked up to the beautiful man he called his lover. “ ** _You’re never leaving,_** ”

Lance gasped at the heavy growl of Keith and Venom’s voice joining together. He spread his legs further apart, feeling Keith’s own thick heat press against his tendril covered one. A barely audible moan escaped his lips as he shifted, arching his body in a way that made them both gasp.

“Oh, baby, I’m not going anywhere,” Lance lowered his head and brought their lips together once more, playing with those pouting lips, refusing to let even a second go without kissing him.

“Lance! Keith! You up?”

“For fucks sakes,” Lance growled, pressing his forehead to Keith’s own. He whimpered as those tendrils slowly slinked off his skin, feeling like silk, like hot water.

“We got to get up,” Keith murmured, but made no move to actually get up. “Shiro’s going to come in here and—”

Lance pressed a quick kiss to his lips and got up, sighing at the heat that left him as he did. Throwing the covers from his body, he shivered at the cold air. He turned and saw Keith was up as well, throwing open the curtains and letting the morning light in. Lance sucked in a breath at the beauty of his lover standing there in the sunlight.

“Please don’t dirty my guest room boys,” Allura’s voice called and they were quick to get their shirts on, teeth brushed, and making themselves presentable.

“We’ll finish this later,” Keith stopped Lance, black tendrils slipping out and holding him close, kissing him sweetly, before leaving him stunned at the doorway.

Lance shook himself from his shock, and followed Keith, he paused when he saw Keith standing at the bottom of the stairwell, a growl in his throat, and a snarl on his lips. Looking ahead, Lance’s eyes widened. Standing at the doorway, being held back by Shiro was the familiar scar faced man that had caused all of these problems for them.

“Kolivan,”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....so thank you for all of your lovely comments.

Kolivan stood at the doorway, looking like death, his skin pale, his face flushed, out of breath. He was pressing a hand to his side, leaning heavily against the doorframe/ his gaze roved over each of them before it landed squarely on Keith. And he only said one thing before he fell to the ground in a heavy thump.

“They’re coming,”

Shiro had grabbed Keith and Lance and hustled them both back up the stairs. He didn’t speak as he pushed them into the guest room, reaching underneath the bed and pulling out a suitcase. He opened the cupboards and threw in a few sets of clothes, going into the cupboards as well, throwing shirts, jeans, pyjamas, underwear into the air, knowing they would land in the suitcase.

“What are you doing?” Keith asked, dodging a stray shirt as it flew through the air and landed into the open suitcase. “Shiro, stop, what is happening?”

Shiro rifled through a few boxes, taking out a few more essentials and putting them in the suitcase. He stood up and made his way out of the room and into the bathroom. He met Allura in the hallway, and she handed him a few spare toothbrushes and other toiletries.

“Hey, hello, earth to Shiro,” Lance said, holding his hands out in front of Shiro as he barrelled down the hallway and back to the room and put the toiletries into the suitcase. Allura followed suit, taking a few more things out and placing them into the suitcase as well.

They worked in tandem, unspeakably moving and flowing as if they knew exactly where to go and what to get. It was amazing to watch, but at the same time, Keith and Lance were confused. Why were they packing?

What was happening?

Keith sucked in breath after breath. His heart rate increasing, his body heating up, he didn’t pay attention to Venom muttering him to calm down, to chill. **_Keithy…please take a breath…you’re scaring me…_**

Getting frustrated at the two not listening, Keith growled, Venom escaped from the back of his head and reached out for Shiro, claw hands wrapping around the larger man’s shoulders, forcefully turning him until he was facing Keith directly.

“Please, tell me what is happening,” Keith said exasperatedly. They were packing sure, but they were packing his and Lance’s things. Shiro was packing _him away!_ Oh god, this was it, wasn’t it? This was yet another person leaving him. Wasn’t it enough that he was a poor orphan child with a tumour? But now, the only person he called his own family was forcing him away. And he was doing it silently, not even talking to him. “If you want me to leave, _tell me!_ ”

“What?” Shiro asked, grasping at the black hands and patting them oddly from his position. He instead reached for Keith’s face, cradling it in his larger hands. “I don’t want you to leave, what gave you that idea?”

Keith blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes and let Shiro go, dropping him carefully onto his feet. He pointed to the suitcase, gesturing to the whole mess they had created in the room.

“I told you there’s an alien in me, and then Kolivan came, and now you’re packing my things,” Keith explained through hysterics, trying hard not to just break down and cry. He didn’t want to leave; he didn’t want to go anywhere. He had made a home here, he had friends, a life, and he had a boyfriend. “Please don’t make me go,”

He gasped when Shiro’s strong arms wrapped around his body, crushing him to that broad chest. And he wept, letting everything that had happened to him come to the surface until all it could do was overflow.

“You are my brother, and I love you,” Shiro said firmly, making sure Keith had no denial about that part. “I will never let you go,”

Keith felt Lance hug him from behind, heard the sniffling tears and he couldn’t help but cry harder. Burying his face into Shiro’s chest, he let his tears flow, letting everything he had held in out. It was a good feeling, feeling his brother and his lover, and the alien in his head all hugging him, protecting him, keeping him safe and sane.

Well…maybe Venom wasn’t keeping him _sane…_

“We’ve got to get you out of here,” Shiro stated, tightening his grip on his brother, not wanting to let him go, but knowing he had to. “I need you to be safe,”

Keith nodded, leaning back and taking the suitcase Allura handed him. It wheeled on the carpet and he sighed. This was going to be his life for now, wasn’t it? Being moved around from place to place, yet again, all because of something he himself couldn’t control.

Lance slinked his hand into Keith’s palm, holding onto it tightly, and close to his own side. Keith gazed at his boyfriend and smiled.

At least this time he had Lance with him, at least he had love. He needed to get Venom to safety, and this was the best way to do it.

“Where are we going to go?” Lance asked, taking the suitcase from Keith and holding it to his side.

Allura held a hand to his shoulder, squeezing it firmly. “I know just the person,”

 

Keith rested his head on the car window, watching the street lights zoom passed him. His gaze rushed to Lance sitting on the drivers’ seat, seeing the way Lance’s grip was tight on the wheel, his eyes focused like lasers on the road. There was something extremely hot about the way Lance was now, looking so determined. It made something deep in the pit of Keith’s stomach start fluttering.

**_He looks fuckable, Keithy…tell him to stop the car…we need to take him here and now._ **

He grinned, seeing the complete truth in those words. But this was so not the time, they needed to get to the place Allura had told them. The navigation system in the car kept chirping directions at them. He trusted Allura, and he trusted Shiro, and he most definitely trusted Lance.

Looking at the road, he watched the sun slowly dip into the horizon, the sky turning a cosmic shade of orange and red and blue. It was such a beautiful sight to see. It gave Keith hope that something was going to go right.

After all, they were going to meet Krolia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....don't get ahead of me!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the second day of December!  
> ...What?   
> When? How? Where the hell did this year go? And yet, why is it so slow?

The car parked barely a block away from the small house in the centre of the cul-de-sac. Keith had long since fallen asleep. However Lance could hear Venom’s deep voice humming to the songs playing lightly on the radio.

It was strangely domestic, the way this was working out for them. He smiled, turning the ignition off. He took a moment to look at the pretty man he called his boyfriend and let out a pleased sound. All these years watching Keith from afar, looking through his peephole just to catch Keith’s back as he locked the door, having those small conversations with him and watching him get all flustered and cute. Seeing those hospital bands on his wrists and how he tried to hide them, seeing his crestfallen face when he saw Lance notice.

And now…here he was, sleeping so soundly, his skin no longer pale and sickly, hair smooth and soft – though there was that mullet – hands curved around his head, pillowing him to the door. Sleeping so soundly, so serenely.

He looked delicious…

No, Lance. This was _not_ the time to be thinking things like that. They’d get to that kind of stuff later. But not _too_ much LATER. He had to wake Keith up. Unbuckling his belt, he leaned over to the sleeping man and smirked. He knew it’d be a bad idea to just crawl over the middle console and straddle that fine body, but maybe he could meet half way. He instead moved in a little closer, so close that his lips were a mere breath away, he tilted his head a little to the side and leaned in all the way. His lips pressed just so, just a brush of their mouths, but the electricity that shock through him made him bite back a moan.

And then Venom made a move, and that move involved that sinful tongue. Lance’s mouth was suddenly stuffed with a slick and thick tongue. He gasped, mouth opening wide, and that tongue plunged in deeper. Lance felt hands slinking up to his hair, dragging him closer to that gorgeous face.

Moments passed, and Lance’s breathing got heavier, his face flushed and lightning fissuring through his very body. He was never going to get used to this, but he didn’t want to lose it for even a second.

They pulled away, however, though they were loath to do so. And Keith’s eyes blinked open, bleary from his sleep. He looked up at Lance and smiled sweetly, breathing out through his nose, and closed his eyes once again.

His eyes suddenly opened wide, shock filling his purple irises. “L-Lance!”

Lance sat there, breathing heavily, still completely out of it from that kiss. He didn’t know what to do, he was frozen completely still. Keith’s hands were still tangled in his short hair, mouths still rather close, breath mingling.

“Hey there, sleeping beauty,” Lance murmured, if only to see the flushed cheeks and bright eyes on that gorgeous face. “We’re here,”

They parted then, Lance leaning back. He made for the door and opened it, grabbing their suitcase from the bag and taking Keith’s hand as they made their way down the street and to the lovely looking house in the corner in the cul-de-sac.

The house was pretty normal looking; a nice waist high wooden fence lined the property that had spackled white walls and large bay windows with fluffy, netted curtains. A neatly mowed lawn and a lovely little flower bed under the window adorned the front.

Though a small part of Lance had imagined it would be something completely frightening, he was glad for this. This was something he and Keith needed right now; a normal away from their currently abnormal life.

**_“I’m scared Keithy…”_** Lance heard the tremble in Venom’s voice, and he felt for the alien. To go from what he was used to – after what Lance had seen – such scary massacre in an “eat or be eaten” world, to this lovely little house in the suburbs.

“Don’t worry Ven,” Lance replied, pushing the gate open and letting Keith go through first. “I’ll protect you,”

Keith’s cheeks burst a bright red, and he looked away. But Lance smiled when he felt the thin tendrils wrap around his fingers, along with Keith’s own hand.

This was nice.

He knocked on the door, tightening his grip on Keith’s hand, and waited. A few moments later, they heard the tell tale sounds of footsteps, followed by the lock clicking as it opened. The door barely opened a little, and Lance was a little weirded out by seeing what appeared to be _very_ familiar purple eyes staring back at him. Her short, black hair was curled at the nape of her neck – like a mullet! – her eyes were narrow, and her face was angular, and so familiar.

Lance darted his gaze to Keith and let out a breath. _Ha!_ No way, that was not possible. It had to be a trick or something like that. Maybe he was doing that love sick thing where he saw his boyfriend in everything. Yeah, that was it.

Lance, you’re so in love with Keith you’re seeing him everywhere!

“Are you Krolia?” Keith asked. And Lance returned to the present. He put on a smile and tried to look confident.

The woman nodded, her grip on the door tightening. She looked at them, taking them in one by one and slowly opened the door.

“You Keith and Lance?” she asked her voice _also_ familiar to Lance. This was getting weird.

Keith nodded, and Krolia pulled the door open a little more. She took a quick look outside, smiling and waving at a woman walking down the street on the other side. The other woman waved back, and Lance relaxed a little. She may be weird, but at least she was neighbourly.

Krolia ushered them both inside. They stepped into the house and Lance was met with a lovely smell of butter and biscuits, it wafted in through his nose and he was reminded of his mother and his family back home.

“Thank you for allowing us to stay here,” Keith murmured, his triangular eyes darting here and there. Lance almost wanted to hush him, to cover his eyes so he wouldn’t let Venom out. This woman would definitely freak out if she saw Venom.

“No problem,” Krolia replied, her speech similar to Keith’s own. “When Shiro told me about your problem, I knew I had to help you,”

This was sending him on a little spin. Lance wasn’t sure what to think. But he was definite this wasn’t just a _lovesick_ thing.

“Why don’t you come inside,” Krolia said, gesturing to the thick and fluffy looking sofa in the middle of a rather neat looking living room. There was a wall of books lining behind a television, a few flowers here and there in glass cases; there was a single seater sofa in the corner, with a lovely lamp next to it. It looked so lovely here, so homely.

There were photos lined along one of the bookshelves shelf, pictures of Krolia a lot younger, standing next to a young man, she had a baby in her arms. There were many other pictures of her and the same young man, but they all were all with a baby or with the man – her husband, most likely – and nothing else.

Who was that baby? Who was that man? And why did Krolia seems so familiar?

He’d have to get to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm...yeah Lance...I wonder why she seems so familiar?
> 
> How am I going to play this? Hehehehehehe...


	32. Chapter 32

 The bedroom seemed just as familiar to Lance as the rest of the house had.

He stepped into the beautifully decorated dark wood room, smirking at the four poster bed with the thick netter curtains, and the fluffy looking pillows. There was a desk to one side and a cupboard to the other. The window was opened wide, letting in the brisk and fresh mountain air.

No one would be able to find them here. Not so deep in the mountains where Krolia lived. It was tucked away near a forest bedding a small sandy mountain scape. There was a lake near the mountain side, a stones’ throw away from the house. Looking out of the window, Lance took in the fresh pine air and earth scent and smiled softly. This was nice. This was what he needed. Right now, this was what they _both_ needed. Though there was so much happening to them, it was really nice to just have a moment away from everything.

Though a small part of him was worried just how quickly he had fallen for Keith and just how dependant he had become on him. And just how dependant Keith had become on him after Venom, and how _he_ had just up and left everything he knew to be his life all for a boy – Lance winced, his mama would have definitely told him off for being so reckless, but if he had to do it again, he wouldn’t have changed anything – but he had spoken to Nyma after he had told Keith to go to bed in his home all those days ago, and he was safe from the wrath of work itself.

Nyma understood, thank god.

But a bigger, much larger part of him told him that this was the place he needed to be. This was where his life had led him to. He was able to make actual, physical contact with an extra-terrestrial being, something that was not of this earth – well, okay he had done so much more than just pure ‘physical contact’, now that he thought about it. His mind whirled with that thought, and it made him a little worried. Though they hadn’t done anything serious…what if it _was_ serious? What if there were things like diseases and killer poisonous stuff inside Venom that could cause him problems? Oh god, what if the alien _was_ slowly killing Keith? The alien’s name was _Venom_ after all. But he paused, and thought about it. Keith wouldn’t allow anything like that to happen to him, surely. And he wouldn’t do something that would cause harm to _himself_.

But Keith didn’t really _know_ what was happening. None of them did. He was barely able to control the alien. And Lance came up with the decision that he was going to figure out a way to help Keith control his alien side.

His thoughts were getting too out of hand now. Don’t sweat the little stuff, Lance, look at the big picture. He was here, he was safe, _and Keith_ was safe. They were in a lovely house in the mountains, with a weird woman that reminded him of Keith all the way down to her mullet like hair.

Yeah…so _that_ little tid bit was weird. But that was neither here nor there, because they were here and they were safe.

He _was_ going to get to the bottom of it. But right now, as he turned and looked over to Keith, who had taken to sitting on the bed and slumping down in what looked to be sadness. He thought to instead focus on his boyfriend – he still loved saying that!

“You okay there, mullet?” he asked, trying to lighten the moment somewhat, while still keeping it soft and sincere.

Keith looked up, his eyes having taken to a tinge of triangle in shape – which Lance had come to understand was Keith needing Venom’s support for whatever was running around in his mind. It was like he was searching within – his cheeks were coloured a faint flushed red.

“Thinking about something… _naughty?_ ” he leaned in closer, loving whenever he teased his gorgeous boyfriend, Keith was so pretty when he was embarrassed and flustered. Keith didn’t disappoint, his cheeks turned redder, his eyes opened wider, his pulse quickened under Lance’s fingertips pressed against his skin. Oh he liked this look. He liked it a lot.

Keith’s cheeks turned a brighter shade of red, if it was possible, and his mouth opened wide, his eyes a little hazy and far away. “ _Shut up Ven. This is not the time to be thinking like that!”_

Lance chuckled. Oh, that was such a confidence booster. He leaned in closer, holding onto Keith’s face, cradling his neck and jaw and pressed a kiss to Keith’s pouting lips, trailing his hand down squeezing his arm as he leaned away.

“Let’s get some rest, samurai,” He said with a soft smile.

Keith nodded, still a little hazy, and stepped away. They were quick to go through their things and get ready for the night. Krolia had called them down for some delicious dinner, and they had eaten the food heartily. Their conversations were stilted at some points, but Lance was able to learn a lot more about Keith and Krolia in that one dinner alone.

Keith had been adamant to help wash the dishes after, and Lance was eager to help too. They soon found themselves laughing and playing as Lance washed the dishes – having rushed to the sink only so he could splash Keith with bubbles and water as they worked together – and Keith helped dry them and put them away.

They didn’t notice Krolia standing at the kitchen doorway, her eyes misting over, and her hand to her lips, silencing her whimpers. She held a phone to her ear, and spoke quietly into it, not wanting to interrupt the lovely scene before her.

“Thank you, Shiro,” she murmured into the phone, looking at the wonderful display of the two lovely people she was taking care of. “Thank you for letting me see my son,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course I did.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a surprise canon ship here.  
> Apologies for those who don't like it!

The lights were dim, a sickly glow of red and purple mixed together in a way that made the hallways all the more eerie. The heavy thudding of Zarkon’s footsteps against the solid almost metallic floor echoed in the room.

 _“We’ve finished the prototype_ ,” 

Zarkon grinned as he made a turn into the next hallway, the maze like floor plan so easy to manoeuvre for him. The lights were much dimmer here, and the healthy glow of purple meshed into a bloodier red here. Only the metal door at the other end of the hallway was illuminated by the small scanning pad in the corner.

He placed his hand on the scanner, knowing it only opened for him and him alone. The scanner beeped once and the door slid open, letting out a small puff of cloudy smoke into the hallway. It let away in moments, and Zarkon made his way into the room.

It was cold in this particular lab, everything was almost freezing to the touch. Zarkon let out a little shudder as he made his way deeper into the dark room. No one knew about this place except him and his trusty right hand man Sendak. And no one would ever need to know either. This had been kept a secret from everyone, purely because of just how important it was to him, to the world.

The automated lights flickered on above him, recognising movement in the room. He was suddenly engulfed in a low purpling light. He let out a breath of awe, a small puff of steam escaping his lips, as he saw just what was in front of him.

She had been beautiful when he had first seen her all those years ago, working alongside him and loving every minute of her job. And now, with her skin so pale, her eyes a lovely triangular yellow, and her curvy body hidden under the floor length dress she was wearing – which did much to hide her, though Zarkon already knew all he needed to know about this lovely woman – she sat on the small metal bed, the mattress thick and comfortable as it sunk under her weight, encased in the glass house he had created for her.

“How are you today, my dear?” he asked, pressing a hand to the cold glass separating them.

Her yellow eyes darted up to him almost immediately, yet she was slow to turn her head. It looked almost eerie in a way, but he had grown used to this ever since he had first asked for her to volunteer for him.

She had been so overjoyed, and he had been so elated. He hadn’t been able to take his eyes off her whenever he came here, watching as she worked, the way she knew instinctively what he wanted, what he needed. She was amazing. And at least he knew; now she was ready.

“Well,” she answered, her voice a little gruff. Yet her skin had a light sheen of sweat, little drops that formed and slinked down. “Warm.” She added, sitting still.

Zarkon clucked his tongue, and reached for the small thermostat on the bracket of the glass wall, seeing that the dial was already all the way to the coldest temperature they could house for her, to keep her alive long enough.

“I can’t make it colder,” he stated to her, tapping his nail to the thermostat. “Take off your dress,”

The woman stood up then, swiftly in a graceful jolt, her body moved like water as she slowly made her way over to him, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a firm line.

“You’d like that,” she said, but it sounded more like a statement than a tease. Though both were true, he would indeed like it, and not only to make sure she was okay. He had invested hell of a lot of time, money and emotions on this lovely woman, and he wasn’t going to let that all go to waste all because he had wanted her.

Her eyebrow raised up a little, however, as she looked at him, her yellow gaze drifting from the soles of his feet all the way to the top of his head. She kept her gaze steady and her emotions and expressions blank. He couldn’t get anything from her, not now, not when she was like this. And that was a shame.

…or was it.

He watched, entranced by her cat like grace, as she turned around so her back was facing him. She reached for the zip of her dress, long thin purple tendrils escaping the tips and reached down to unzip all the way as she slipped her dress off. She turned then, dressed in nothing but the medical graded underwear they had given her, the stark white almost luminescent on her skin. She turned back around just as slow, showing him absolutely everything as she did.

He grinned, however, seeing the spark return in those triangular yellow eyes. “Is that better, my dear?”

She shook her head. “I’m much hotter now,” 

His grin widened, but he knew not to follow this vixen with her teasing. Clenching his hands to fists, he pounded it onto the glass, making her jump back, startled. She looked up at his hand, and then up at him.

“Fine,” she growled, her eyes narrowing, and she turned around, bending over to pick up her dress, smirking when she heard a gasp escape Zarkon’s lips, and made her way back to the bed. “What do you desire of me instead then?”

He turned to his tablet, and swiped at a few things here and there. She watched him with rapt attention, trying to figure out what he wanted. He stopped playing with the screen and turned the tablet to face her. On the screen, there was a name, and details, along with a picture.

“I need you to dispose of him, my beautiful Honerva,” he stated, holding the tablet flat against the glass. "He has become quite a nuisance," 

She got up from the bed and made her way over to the tablet, taking a look at it. Her lips stretched in a wide grin, teeth sharp and jagged.

“Keith Kogane,"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do like Honerva....and her and Zarkon are/were adorable before the whole quintessence war.  
> So I am sorry.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm...sorry about the small little break in between. Christmas had not been kind to me at all this year. I kind of just want 2018 to finish.
> 
> I have yet to watch Voltron S8, and to be honest, from what I hear, I'm so not looking forward to it. I've heard there are a lot of things that are just not very right, and there is a lot of sadness. But I will try to do so this weekend.  
> Should I?

It was surprisingly very easy for Honerva to scope and pinpoint exactly where Venom was in this vast world. Then again, their skills allowed them to sense and find any other symbiotes wherever they were. It was an instinctual thing between their kind. Though Honerva thought it was stupid when they were stuck on that god awful tar pit on an asteroid they called their home planet. There were symbiotes absolutely anywhere, it was finding where they _weren’t_ that was worth this skill.

But right now, when there were only two of them on this massive island, surrounded by salty waters and filled with delicious meat, it was easy for Honerva to find Venom. She could feel him from miles away. As soon as she stepped out of the isolation chamber she had called her home for the past few weeks, stumbling onto Zarkon’s awaiting arms, she had sensed the dull throb of her own kind miles away.

Venom was definitely more of a beacon shining in the distance, so easy to spot. That poor pathetic fool didn’t know just what he was going up against.

Zarkon was so happy to hear her news, and had gotten her dressed in his best, in a nice car and together they made their way down the long and winding road all the way to the mountainside. Honerva had opened the window, letting in the cool breeze, her hand out to feel the wind against the skin, chilling her to the bone. Her other hand was clasped tight in Zarkon’s own – whether it was for the joy and need she felt, or if it was because he wanted to make sure she didn’t fly away somewhere, none of that mattered to her. The difference of the heat in her hands at Zarkon’s touch, and the cool breeze whistling through her fingers made her shudder.

She was ready for a good snacking of the black symbiote she had once called her family.

 

“So boys,” Krolia said suddenly, brining Keith and Lance’s attention to her. They saw her holding a few DVD’s in her hand, spread out like a fan. She was eager to get a night together with her son and his boyfriend, and this was the best idea she had had so far. “How about a movie night to end the day?”

Keith looked up from his phone and he instinctively knew she had picked a few classics, and a few of her favourites. It was surprising to see there were many that he himself had liked. He let out a small smile from his lips, looking back down to his phone when it vibrated in his hands. He had been texting Shiro, telling him that they had reached Krolia’s okay, and giving him updates on everything that had been happening in between. He hadn’t given their location, or just who they were with – they still weren’t taking any chances just in case Shiro’s phone was taken.

But he was glad to have the contact. He still wasn’t sure just _why_ Shiro had sent them here of all places, or just _how_ he knew Krolia. But he was glad for it. Krolia was an outstanding woman.

“Sure, I’m up for it,” Lance said brightly. Keith tightened his grip on Lance’s hand under the table; placing his phone on the table and noticing Lance do the same. They had just been enjoying being with each other, hands clasped together, and doing their own thing. He let out a small sigh of bliss. He couldn’t help but really like this oddly domestic feeling rushing through him.

Venom had been humming happily inside him as well, little beaded sounds that sounded like waves crashing, not so much the buzzing rumble when he snored. It was like he was purring. Maybe he had been.

This all felt…otherworldly. That was for sure. They had only been here for one night, and yet Krolia had welcomed them into her home with open arms. And he had revelled in that feeling. It honestly felt like he had brought his boyfriend home to meet his mother for the first time – embarrassments and all. She had even caught them making out in the hallway moments before, smirking in a way that had caused them to flush and jump away from one another.

His skin was still tinged a bright pink at the memory of his embarrassment. Lance had looked the same, his caramel skin turning a lovely shade of red as he had stuttered and pushed Keith away from him, not looking up into Krolia’s eyes.

This feeling, it was something Keith had noticed he had been missing all of his life. He had never had any moments quite like this before. None of the elders in the orphanages and homes he had lived in had acted like this, like a _mother_ to him. And no one had ever made him feel like this so quickly.

It was a special bond, and that was surprising. Because with Venom, not only had he finally gotten the courage he desired to speak to his long time crush, but he had also gotten closer to his brother, learned to be more confident in his life, love the little things that happened in his life, and now he had this lovely woman who felt…well she felt like a _mother._

It was oddly nice.

He wasn’t expecting that it would go south so quickly. Then again, now that he thought about it, lately every time he had had a good moment, there had been a definite _bad_ that occurred almost immediately after.

Honestly, he should be grateful this particular bad wasn’t about to happen now, or even in the next few hours. But that only meant that the next big bad were going to be bigger and badder than he would expect.

**_What the hell are you talking about, Keithy?_ **

Yeah, it was no surprise that even Venom was confused at his weird musings. He himself didn’t really understand what was happening to him. He had been taking everything in his stride. And so far it had been working well for him.

_So of course something bad has to happen, right?_

**_Just watch the movie, Keithy…leave the world saving to me._ **

Lance got up, dragging Keith along with him to the living room. They both sat down on the seat, giving Krolia space next to Keith’s side. They settled for a nice movie they had chosen, one that they hadn’t seen for a very long time. Krolia had brought blankets, and held a bowl of popcorn in her hands, which she handed Lance, and took a seat in the single seater, getting the movie started.

“This is nice,” she murmured, pressing play and waiting for the movie to start.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it,” Lance answered, reaching for a few kernels of popcorn and popping them into his mouth.

Keith had to agree.

 

The movie had barely made it half way through when Venom suddenly started whining in Keith’s head, mumbling and muttering in a language Keith wished he could understand. But Venom was talking so quickly, it was hard to make out any words at all. But he felt the sudden shuddering feeling deep in his chest, sinking into his very bones.

Something was wrong.

His thoughts were interrupted by a thick rapping of knuckles against the front door. Keith was suddenly on full alert, as was Venom. Lance looked down at him, wondering just what was happening.

“Kei—” He started, but was interrupted by Keith pressing a hand to his lips, hushing him.

Krolia stood up then, throwing the blankets from around her legs. Her head turned to the second wrapping of knuckles against the door and she knew something was definitely wrong. No one ever came here, and if they did, Krolia always knew they were coming.

She heard Keith’s whine, turning back to the two on the sofa. She wasn’t surprised in the least when she saw Keith’s upturned eyes, and sharp teeth. She had witnessed it before when she had caught the two in the hallway. The two had been caught in a mishmash of skin, and lips, and black tendrils.

But to see it now, it could only mean that whoever it was at her door was spooking her son. That definitely wasn’t a good thing. Making up her mind, she pulled the covers from her son and his boyfriend, and motioned for them to get up. Holding her hands to her lips, motioning for them to stay and keep quiet, she quickly made her way to the entrance of the door, getting the boys boots and bags, and quickly returned, handing them to the two.

“You two need to leave,” she said calmly, or at least she was trying to be as calm as she could for them. She handed them a set of car keys, motioning to the doors leading to the garage just passed the kitchen. She took one more look at the aggressive knocking on her front door. “Take my car, and go.”

Keith took her keys, looking up at her and nodding. Lance took the bags, shouldering them, and taking Keith’s hands in his own. Without question, they made their way through the house and to the garage.

“I want to…” Keith paused, trying to figure out just how to word how very happy he had been staying with Krolia. Thankfully she understood, reaching for him and holding him close to her chest, patting at his long hair.

“Just go,” she murmured, holding him tightly one last time. She motioned them to the car, all but pushing the two inside and closing the door behind them. “I’ll keep them busy. Go as fast and as far as you can,”

Lance leaned over Keith, looking up to Krolia. “Thank you so much for everything,”

Krolia nodded, motioning for them to leave. “It was nice to finally meet you both,” she said calmly, though inside she was worried. She had wished she could have spent more time with them, but as she watched the ignition rev, she was glad she had had this moment.

She spotted Keith looking at her from the rear view window, and she couldn’t help but let out a quiet sob.

“Good luck, son.” She murmured turning and closing the garage door behind her. There had been so much she had wanted to tell them, so much she had wanted to learn. But now, that didn’t seem likely. She just hoped she would get another chance soon.

Straightening herself out, she shrugged off her jumper, reaching for a towel hung over a hook in the airing cupboard, wrapping the towel around her hair, she let out a breath and pulled the front door open.

“Sorry, I was taking a shower,” she said gleefully. But looking up at who had come to her door, her eyes widened. “C-can I help you?”

The large woman pushed the door until it swung open all of the way. She pushed Krolia to the side and made her way through the house. Krolia cried out at the audacity, but the large woman didn’t even make a move that she heard her.

“You can’t just barge into my house!” Krolia yelled, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew her kitchen was too far for her to try to find a weapon, darting her eyes here and there, she saw one of her lamps was closest to her. It was thick and metallic and would hurt if she could just get to it. But she had to find out just what was happening. “Who are you?”  

“Don’t mind her,” a siren like voice sounded from the entrance. The man stood there, tall and lithe, with long flowing hair and a smile that seemed more like an evil smirk on his lips. He stepped into her house. “We’re only here to look around,”

Her fingers itched for the lamp, but her body relaxed when she heard the tell-tale sound of the garage door being opened. It was faint, and drowned out by the sounds of cars and people outside. It was a hard noise to decipher when you didn’t know what you were listening for. Thankfully her husband had been adamant to have silent everything around the house.

At least her son was safe.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Krolia repeated, edging her way closer to the lamp on her desk, her only closest weapon for now. “Who are you?”

The man spun around, his smile wide on his lips, and his eyes twinkling brightly. Corners turning a familiar triangular shape and teeth sharp in his mouth. “My name is Lotor and I come in peace,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehehehehehe...
> 
> If people were wondering just where the walking-talking L'Oreal advert was, I have him here.  
> Please be aware, I am not a Lotor fan. I just don't know why, but I can't see it, never have, never will. So this fic will definitely have a bit of Lotor-bashing.
> 
> I am so sorry for those who like him!


	35. Chapter 35

Keith couldn't keep his eyes open much longer.

They had been driving for almost five consecutive hours now, trying to get as far away from Krolia’s home in the mountains side as they could, from whomever or whatever had been at the door waiting for them. He could still vividly picture the way Krolia’s eyes widened when she heard the knock on the door, the way her mouth was agape as she turned her attention back to them and forced them up and out of her home.

She had been so scared for them, moving them and quickly and as quietly as she could. Before  _they_ came. And it was all because of him. She had been nothing but hospitable and kind to them, letting them into her home, letting them eat her food, sleep in her bed, she had looked after them. And how did he repay her? He was the one that had brought the bad guys straight to her door. If he hadn’t gone to her then she would be safe, she wouldn’t have had any of these problems.

He didn’t even know if she was okay. He had just left her to the dogs while he ran away. Like a coward. How could he have done something like that? He knew it was too late to go back now, five hours too late. She might even be…

No. He had to think positively. He hoped she wasn't dead, or injured. She hoped that whomever had come had just up and gone. He hoped she was okay. He hoped, because other than his hope, he could do nothing else. It was all of his fault, but he was going to make this right. He wasn’t going to let anyone else be hurt because of him. Everyone he knew was in danger around him and Venom. Shiro, Allura, Pidge, Hunk.

…Lance.

Venom had been on alert ever since, and so had he. It was instinctive, but he just knew there was something wrong, something was out there that was putting the alien on edge. He could feel it deep inside his body, like some weird kind of Spidey sense; it made the hairs in the back of his neck stand on end. Something bad was going to happen. He knew it.

Lance’s hand wrapped around his bicep, Keith reached for it and squeezed it, hoping to give him some solace from his thoughts. He looked up and saw Lance resting his head back against the seat, deep in thought. And for a moment, Keith was worried.

“Don’t worry,” Lance murmured, but it seemed more like he was speaking to himself. “Everything is going to be okay,”

Oh god. This wasn’t how he had wanted this all to happen. How could he have dragged Lance into all of this? What was even wrong with him? He was the one that had caused all of this. He was the one they were after. Lance and the others had nothing to do with this. He was going to be the one to see this through. Not them.

**_Are you sure Keithy?_ **

_Yes._ He was very sure.

He was going to make sure Lance was safe. Even if that meant he had to be as far away from Lance as possible. It hurt to think it, a deep ache that echoed all over his body, butterflies turning black and tar like as they screeched at him to stop, this all felt so wrong. But he knew it was the right thing to do. Keith had to be brave. He sucked in a deep and fortifying breath, taking in the sea salt and sandy scent that exuded from the beautiful man standing next to him. He knew what he had to do.

He was thankful he spotted a motel on the corner of the street. This was the best chance he would get. He turned the car towards it, noticing the fuel tank was low anyway. Yup, this was it.

Lance startled up from his seat, looking around as if he hadn’t expected the car to suddenly stop. He gazed up at Keith and noticed the frightened look in the man’s eyes. He reached for Keith, hands tightening their grip around his arm, forcing Keith to look at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, and Keith found himself lost in Lance’s eyes. “You look spooked,”

Keith sighed, he was so desperate to reach for Lance, to hug him and keep him safe away from all of this. And therein was the problem. Lance would be safer _away from him._

“Just need to get some fuel,” he murmured instead, unbuckling his seat belt and moving to get out of the car. Surprisingly, Lance held him back, holding onto his wrist and forcing him back onto the seat.

“You look exhausted, let me,” and with that, he unbuckled his own seat and made his way out of the car. Keith handed him his card and the keys to the car.

This was perfect. Better than he could have ever anticipated. He got out of the car with Lance, and motioned to the inside. “Just need to…go to the toilet,” he stated lamely, tugging at the hem of his cropped jacket and putting his hands into his pocket.

“Alright then, don't take too long,” Lance said with a smile as he swiped Keith’s card on the machine and putting fuel into the tank. Keith couldn’t help it, he made his way over to Lance, leaning in close to him and kissed him for all he was worth. It was sweet, a little salty because of the snacks they had eaten before, but it was pure Lance, and Keith took the taste of him, the feel of him, and the scent of him, everything that made Lance who he was, and ingrained it into his memory. This may be the last time he ever got to see Lance again, to kiss him and have him so close. With a reluctant sigh, he broke the kiss, seeing the dazed look on Lance’s face, and sought to ingrain _that_ look into his memory too.

**_Keithy…don’t do this…_ **

“Wow…” Lance gasped, “What was that for?”

Keith let out a small smile, allowing himself that much. “I just wanted to kiss you,” he stated, internally adding “ _One last time.”_

Lance’s cheeks burst a beautiful hue of pink, but he smiled so wide. The fluorescent lights above them did nothing to hide his pretty face, and for that Keith was glad. He took one last look at Lance, seeing the way he was leaning against the car, a little smile on his pretty lips as he got back to work. He wished he could just march up there and kiss him, just one more time, but he knew Lance would only ask him why he had done that again.

Instead, he turned to the store, walking in with the pretence of going to the toilet, but instead, he bypassed the store completely, using Venom’s long tendrils to slip up onto the roof and completely out of sight.

Taking out his phone, he took one last look at Lance, and typed a short message. He let out a sigh when he saw Lance reach for his phone, but he didn’t dare look at the sadness that would seep into those eyes.

_I’m sorry…_

He was a coward, but at least Lance would be safe.


	36. Chapter 36

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stupid Keith meets someone following him...

**_Go back._ **

Keith couldn’t keep his eyes open.

Still, he kept on moving. Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot.

**_I’m hungry._ **

Right foot, left foot.

**_Keithy…_ **

Where was he supposed to go? What was he supposed to do? All he could see was Lance’s face in his mind, looking so lovely in the artificial lights. His heart ached having to leave his love behind. But he knew it was the safest thing for them both.

Everything was going to be better for them if he were far away…he had to believe that. Because if he didn’t, he was going to listen to Venom and run all the way back into Lance’s arms.

No, focus Keith.

He sighed, feet thudding deeply onto the tarmac. He was used to the lack of goodbyes; his life wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows. He’d never have someone who lasted for longer than…well a few weeks really.  He had always thought he was too proud to show emotions, like affection and love. But honestly, after all the shit that had gone down in his life, he’d learned to love the little things.

Little things like…well, like Shiro’s hugs, Allura’s smiles, like Venom’s annoying little quips and quirks, and how, even though the whole head eating thing was sickening, Venom was there to take care of him and his family. Little things, like finally having spoken to Lance, having kissed him, having touching him, having seen his face in the throes of passion. Having witnessed such gorgeous beauty and lived to see the next day.

The road ahead of him was long, the sun had set in the distance, and it was getting colder and colder as they night grew. He was getting pissed off as well. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone and pressed play on the music player. A familiar song rang out into his headphones pressed in his ears, and it ached that it reminded him of Lance. But he let the music take over him.

_Veeeenom…_

Pulling out the headphones, he stopped on the pavement, eyes darting this way and that in the street light. But there was no one there. He could have sworn he heard something other than the music playing. Maybe he was just hearing things.

Straightening his jacket and tugging at the strap of his bag across his chest once again, he ignored Venom’s whining to go back to Lance, and made his way through the darkly lit street until he saw a motel in the distance.

He only had money on him for one night, so he had to at least try to get some rest soon. With a deep breath, he prepared himself for the worst. He had blocked all calls coming from Lance, and forced himself to ignore the little flashing light on his phone that told him Lance had left him probably another voicemail. He knew this was for the best, but he still had the distinct feeling of dread.

No. Don’t listen to the voicemail, don’t read his messages. Stop hurting yourself.

He cursed the fact that he had no credit on his phone to call anyone to help. If he did, well that would definitely help him out a lot. But no, he was going to be stuck here, all on his own, because that was what he wanted, that was what was best for everyone.

Although, he spied a few of the texts must have been from Shiro as well. After all, Lance wasn’t going to keep quiet, even with the radio silence they had going. He needed to get somewhere far as soon as possible.

_Veeeenom_

That voice again. But this time, it was coming from directly in front of him. But there was nothing there, nothing but the foggy wisps of a cold night. He yanked off his headphones and turned full circle, hoping to find the person who was constantly calling out Venom’s name. Who the hell knew about Ven? If they had followed him, then he was surely not going to sleep tonight.

“I know you’re out there!” He yelled into the empty street. But there was no reply other than his echo reverberating off the tall buildings. The street was quiet, a little too quiet for his liking. It was completely empty, even the rows of houses were empty. No lights were on, no cars in the driveways.

The  _entire_  street couldn’t be empty could it?

**_I don’t like this…we should have stayed with Lancey!_ **

_Oh god, don’t you start up again, Ven._

He quickly turned back up the street and made a beeline for the motel. He wasn’t going to risk anything, especially if whoever or whatever calling for Venom had followed him into the street with no witnesses. Especially if Keith couldn’t even see him.

Bust as soon as he did, the voice repeated Venom’s name again, and again, and again. The voice was getting closer, so very, very close. It was as if he could feel the cool air around him heat up immediately and immensely. Something hot glided over his arm. He yanked his arm back from the invisible feeling.

Who the hell could this be? Was it another symbiote? Or something else entirely?

“Show yourself!” He yelled, holding his arms tightly to his chest, hoping to keep Venom safe inside him. He felt the air around him whirl like a small tornado. The heat engulfed him, gliding and pressing burning lines against his arms, his legs, twirling through his hair. It whirled him around, dropping him to and fro until all he could feel was the heat. He couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. What the hell was happening? He let out a yell and crouched to the ground.

“Stop it!” He growled, holding his hands over his aching head. “Leave me alone!”

What was going on? Oh god… what had he done?

He felt a sliver of familiar heat run down his spine as Venom rested against the small of his back, like a heavy hand pressing directly to his skin. He shivered but he trusted the alien inside him.

“Please, make it stop” He yelled, his voice shaking and tears forming in his eyes. It hurt so much. He just wanted this all to stop. He had been so stupid to think he could do all of this by himself.

Then, everything stopped.

The whirlwind ceased, the heat dissipated, the touch left. Everything just…stopped.

Keith hesitantly stood up, shakily straightening out his clothes and hair as he looked around. He could see the streetlights flicker on, everything suddenly coming back to life. The lights in the houses turned on, their owners flittering back and forth in their houses.

What…was happening?

He was probably just dreaming, or imagining it. That had to be it. He hadn’t gotten enough sleep for the past few weeks with everything that was happening. Exhaustion was finally taking its toll on his body.

Whatever it was, he knew she would be safe as soon as he got away, _far away,_ he just had to be. The motel came into view and he sucked a breath and quickened his steps.

Whatever that was, he didn’t want to think about it right now. But that only proved him right. Lance would be safe, as long as he was far away from Keith.

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yeah, you keep thinking that buddy.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap guys.  
> Christmas is like....right here!  
> I'm not much of a Christmas-ser? But I gotta say, I prefer working over the Christmas holidays than staying at home and...not working.  
> So yeah, this week is going to be a little slow on the updates.
> 
> Sorry for the long wait, I had a lot of extra crap to take over last week, apparently having to work means getting a bigger work load at the end of the week...sigh.
> 
> I will do my bestest to make sure this fic gets written (along with the others I am currently writing) my focus is on Venom at most, so please be patient.
> 
> Let's get this show on the road eh?

_Sorry…._

That was all he had to say? Sorry?

What type of bullshit excuse was that? Not only did he leave with a thinly veiled text – out of everything else that he could say or do – but it was a simple one letter text. One measly little five letter word that was sitting serenely on his phone screen, acting so nonchalant, not knowing that that one simple five letter word had pretty much destroyed, disrupted and whatever other damning bad word that meant shattering his very existence into miniscule pieces -- he couldn’t think of anything over his breaking heart.

Because though Lance, in a logical way, understood just what the hell Keith was trying to do, keeping him safe and all that shit – which, may he add, was the dumbest asshole thing that gorgeous mullet man could do – he had split their defences.

In order to keep Lance safe, he had left Lance to the dogs.

And…to top the cherry on top of this shit storm ice cream, that asshole of gorgeousness had left without saying goodbye

Yeah no, that was not going to do, at all.

Lance was going to find that stupid man, and he was going to take Keith's hand and hold onto it tight, telling that idiot that he was never going to let him go, maybe Lance would punch him across that pretty face for being such an idiot to think this ploy would actually work, and then Lance would kiss the very breath out of him.

Because fuck it, the boy had fucked up, but Lance was really missing him.

Asshole, couldn’t even say goodbye. That kiss was not a goodbye kiss. Lance should have known something was up. Keith wasn’t really the PDA kind of guy, so kissing him in the middle of the night, in the middle of a gas station where there were a few people watching – _and camera’s mind –_ he should have known.

He had been too lost in that kiss to notice anything other than the way Keith tasted, how Venom’s tendrils felt and how those hands held him close, gripping him tight and knocking back any thought from his head.

Yeah…asshole.

But how was Lance supposed to find him?

He reached for his phone once again; swiping away at the single word text his boyfriend had left him, and went into his contacts. Keith had left the car, the card and the keys with him. While he had gone off out there on his own. He hadn’t been feeling all that great, and neither had Venom after everything had happened.

They both needed rest, and some recuperation. And a massive cuddle session with yours truly. Lance had thought that was what they were going to do when they found a motel, but no…asshole had to leave him.

“Fucking asshole,” Lance grumbled, breathing out his anger. He found the contact he was looking for and held the phone to his ear. After a few rings, he forced a smile. “Pidge, I need your help,”

“Lance, thank god, what’s happening?” Pidge sounded a little frazzled, as if she hadn’t been sleeping – and honestly, Lance understood. She was also part of this whole debacle, and though in a way Lance didn’t want to tell her that he had _lost_ Keith, he needed her help.

“Alright, so don’t freak out,” he started first, sitting back in the car and turning the ignition on. He let the car stay on idle, and continued. “But I kind of, sort of...lost Keith,”

“You _what?”_ Pidge’s yelled.

Lance held the phone away from his ear at her yelling. “It…look, it wasn’t my fault. The self-sacrificing asshole decided to up ship without a fucking paddle,” he explained to Pidge what had happened, how Keith had stopped them to get gas, and had pretended to go to the bathroom, but instead kissed him and left.

“TMI, but okay…” Pidge answered, he could hear some clacking and tapping on her side and smirked, he knew she was the right person to go to. “Alright, I think I can triangulate his position, but where are you?” – Lance told her, making sure to telling her the name of the gas station and the road they had been on. – “Good, so it looks like your boyfriend headed to the next town over, I can see him on a street cam heading into ‘Come and Stay Inn’, but…he looked scared,”

“He looked scared?” Lance asked, holding the phone closer to his ear. What was he scared about? Why had he _left him?_ What if he was being followed? What if the bad guys found him? What if Venom was going to eat him? Oh god, there was just too much that could happen. They had too many things to worry about, and Keith leaving him was not the best fucking thing right now. “Okay, I’m going to head there now,”

He started the car and drove out of the station, the street was empty now, and the moon was high in the skies. It was the only source of light illuminating the dark, even the streetlights here were off, a pointless bane in the darkness. He growled, and quickened his speed, he had to get to Keith now and explain to him that their separating was the worst idea in the world. He was such a fucking asshole.

There was something on the road.

Lance spotted a tall, long haired man standing in the middle of the road, looking directly at him as if he thought the middle of the road was the best place to be standing right now. He looked at Lance as if he had been waiting there for Lance to make his way over to him.

“What the fuck?” Lance swerved, but the tall man moved along with him, as if he were moving with the swiftness of the wind itself. Lance tried to swerve again but the man just turned a little and he was standing again in Lance’s way.

Oh god, what the fuck was this thing? And did he have a death wish?

“Move out of the way!” Lance yelled, gripping the wheel tight and slamming his feet onto the brakes. But the car didn’t stop, neither did it slow. It was still going the same speed. The man stood in front of him, and Lance saw the smirk widen on his face, sharp teeth glinting in the moonlight like some fucked up vampire Dracula special effect. With a garbled yell, Lance cut the wheel until he was suddenly swerving again, he cried out in anguish as the back end of the car catapulted, raising from the tarmac before falling to back down with a jolt. The suddenness made the front of his car shudder and he was suddenly spinning, turning and turning.

He felt dizzy as the car drifted and swerved on the road, spinning until his stomach suddenly didn’t feel like it was where it was supposed to be. After what seemed like hours and hours of spinning, he finally stopped. The car shut off and Lance had a moment to breathe. 

He looked into the back window and saw the mess he had made of the tarmac. The smoke coming off it was the only indication that anything had really happened. But he couldn’t see the man.

_Had there been a man?_

He grunted, his white knuckled grip on the car loosening a little. At least he wasn’t hurt. Maybe he had imagined all of that. After all, what idiot would want to stand in the way of an oncoming car?

Suddenly, Lance felt the hair in the back of his neck rise, and the air suddenly turned frigid around him. Turning, he looked to the back seat of the car again and saw the long haired man sitting in his back seat. Heart held to his throat, Lance tried to scream, but he wasn’t able to let anything but a short, gasping warble escape him.

Internally, he swore at Keith once again. Fine time to leave _me_ alone…keep me safe, my ass.


	38. Chapter 38

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year!  
> Hope you have a lovely and festive start to this new year. Let's leave all the badness of 201 behind us and start anew!
> 
> Sorry its so short...sigh!

The knocking on the motel door woke Keith up.

Alert, and with Venom present at the back of his head, ready if need be, Keith suddenly got up and out of the bed. Just who would come here? He didn’t ask for any housekeeping and looking down at the clock on the side table, blaring the timings just a few minutes after three am, he knew no one in their right mind would come so early in the morning to clean a full room.

He stood by the door, peering out of the peep hole, and quirked an eyebrow when he didn’t see anyone, or anything on the other side. He went back into the room, looking for something to use as a weapon. There wasn’t much around the room; it was a simple motel room after all. The kettle was the only thing he could think of. So he listed that up. The kettle felt heavy in his hands, and he could swing it if he needed to. It would hurt anyone if he hit them in the right place.

“You ready Ven?” Keith asked quietly.

“Ready as ever, Keithy,” Venom purred into his ear.

With a brave breath, Keith opened the door suddenly, ready for whoever was on the other side. He held the kettle up; hoping gravity would take a good effect of harming the other person.

But there was no one there. The hallway was completely empty, save for an old woman with a cleaning cart buffering at the far window – so, the cleaning ladies did work in the middle of the night. He waved when the woman nodded to him, but came back into his room, closing the door.

Hs hair suddenly stood at the back of his neck and he shivered. There was something in the room with him. But couldn’t see anything different in his room when he turned around. It was still very dark, but Venom made it easier for him to see in the dark.

“I don’t like this,” Venom murmured into his mind. “We need to run,”

Keith nodded, if someone like Venom was telling him to run, then he was going to do his best to heed the warning. He saw his bag and coat on the chair near the bed. His phone was on the side table, charging. He made his way over to it, but Venom stopped him from stepping forward. Instead he elongated his arms, reaching to unplug and take his phone and charger. Turning, with his phone in his hands, he paused.

Didn’t he close the door?

He was more alert now, but he had left the kettle by the door, and the only other weapon he had not was Venom and himself. He took slow and steady steps to the door, not allowing his gaze to linger on any one place for too long, just in case something jumped out.

He was doing so well, and had gotten so close to the door. So he was definitely surprised when he felt thick, purple tendrils come out from the darkness and wrap tightly around his body. Something hard and heavy hit him on the head, throwing him harshly against the wall. He grimaced when he heard the brick and wood crack under his weight. Venom tried to protect him, curling around his head and chest, but the tendrils tightened around them until Keith was finding it difficult to breathe. Venom was trapped, and Keith was encased. What the hell were they going to do? Who had the power to do this?

He tried to tilt his head to look back and saw an off, more feminine looking Venom standing behind him, she was gazing down at him with those whitened eyes, smirking large, teeth sharp and gleaming, eyes wide and tongue sticking out of her lips. She leaned in close, pressing the side of her head against Keith’s own.

“Found you, little lost bird,” she said tauntingly. “Now it’s time to take you home to your mama,”

Keith shuddered, grimacing when that tongue came out to lick against his cheek. It was a horribly cold feeling, and he was desperate to get away. The only thing keeping him sane was the thought that at least Lance was safe.

 

Lance was not safe.

Not at all.

 He sat in the middle of the darkened room, staring up into the double mirror before him. He was sitting on a hard chair, and was handcuffed to a single steel table, the handcuffs had little slack, but they would not budge. He had tried until his wrists were red raw from tugging, his throat hoarse from screaming and his body exhausted from struggling.

“Sorry, my ass,” he grumbled, leaning back on his chair. Looking up to the oddly speckled ceiling, he wished he could have at least taken a last look at the man, just so he could swear at him.

But now, instead, he was here. Stuck in this god forsaken interrogation room for hours. Too tired, too exhausted and too hungry to do anything but just sit there and let whatever the hell was going to happen, happen. He really wished he could at least know what was happening around him, why he was here, why he was forced to be handcuffed.

But no, that asshole of a boyfriend had left him. And that long haired L’Oréal advert had hit him on the head as soon as Lance had seen him in the backseat of his car, and had dragged him kicking and screaming all the way into this weird ass fuck bunker-esque room.

When he finally saw Keith, he was going to kill him.


	39. Chapter 39

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there my loves, so the start of this new year has not been the best for me.  
> Alas, I will still keep going.
> 
> I will be focusing on finishing my novel, so I apologise now if I don't stay as up to date with this fic as I would like to.  
> I will still do my best to keep with daily updates, but don't count on it. I may miss a day or two (or in this case, almost a whole week...orz.)  
> Sorry my dears!

So, maybe Lance could take a moment to appreciate the morbid fact that Keith – even with the all power and strong alien like Venom within him – wasn’t able to not get caught.

But then again, now that they were both captured, kidnapped, whatever, by some weirdo – or weirdo’s, now that Lance thought about it, because that woman that had been standing at the doorway as the two men manhandled Keith into the same room he was in, may _look_ like the L’Oréal wannabe that had kidnapped Lance, but she was in no way the same person.

Where was he going with this?

A large part of him wanted to rush up to Keith, throw those assholes off his bruised and battered form and hold him close, and then kiss him soundly. But another part of him was fuming, burning with rage at being left all along in the middle of nowhere, where he was the most vulnerable to an attack, with only one stupid little measly text that said the word ‘sorry’.

Sorry? He growled, that really stuck in his craw – if he knew what the hell that meant – but it stung him to think that that gorgeous asshole didn’t even think he was good enough or strong enough, or whatever enough, to stay with him on this journey. He was fuming. How was this even a good idea? Had the pretty idiot never watched a horror movie before? Hell even Scooby Doo told them not to split up. And yet.

Oh, if Lance didn’t love him, he’d punch him in that pretty face.

His fury dissipated somewhat when he saw just how the men were manhandling him, gripping onto his arms and body as he struggled to get away from them. He was growling like and animal and screaming expletives at them all.

Lance didn’t think he could love Keith any more than he did right at that moment, as the animal in the mullet haired man tore his sharp teeth into the arm around him, as he clawed at their faces and growled out swear word after swear word – many weren’t English, many weren’t even Korean, hell he swore he heard Venom’s growling and swearing voice in there too – but ay dios mio, there was just so much power in him right now. Wounded animal he was not.

Hold on there, Lance, you’re angry at the man.

They threw Keith into the room, and he dropped to the ground with a hideously sickening thump. Keith groaned in pain and got up suddenly, growling and yelling at the men on the other side of the now closed door.

“Get me the fuck out of here,” he growled, thudding heavy hands on the metal door. He, and Venom, was only leaving dents against the metal door.

“They won’t listen to you,” Lance said nonchalantly, dragging his hands from the table and to his sides. The chains on his wrists made a screeching sound as they dropped with a thud to the linoleum floor.

“ ** _Lancey?_** ” Venom’s voice was thick as Keith turned around.

Ah hell, Lance was supposed to be angry. But with the way Keith was looking at him right now, as if he had just witnessed heaven, as if he was a kid who had just seen Santa Claus on Christmas morning. His eyes were a brilliant purple, and shining with fresh and unshed tears, his mouth was quivering as he tried to speak. It took Lance’s breath away.

But then his face fell into sadness. “What are you doing here?”

Lance shrugged. “You know, seeing the sights, getting the experience of being interrogated like a felon, you know the usual,” – he stood up suddenly, the chains clashing as he did. “What do you think? You left me there to get taken by these assholes,”

“But…you were safer away,” Keith looked so lost as he stood there, like he actually believed his own stupid words. Lance rolled his eyes, and watched as his boyfriend took heavy steps towards him. He suddenly gripped at the chains around Lance’s hands and tugged on them tight. Venom’s tendrils escaping his fingers and trailing and looping around the chains, with a growl he broke them apart, freeing Lance.

“Obviously I’m not, you asshole,” Lance glowered, rubbing and running his fingers over his wrists, soothing the redness. He leaned in close to Keith, reaching a hand back and making it into a fist. He thrust his fist forward and slammed it right into Keith’s jaw. But he grimaced when his knuckles connected with the brick wall that was Keith’s god damn face. “Fuck! What the hell man! What are you made of? Steel?”

“Venom, actually,” he grinned, leaning in close and wrapping his arms around Lance, pulling him in close and pressing a wet and wonderful kiss to his lips. Lance growled, but melted into his boyfriends embrace, sighing when Keith deepened the kiss. Oh god, he knew it had only been a few hours since he had last seen Keith, but hell, he really missed this.

“You’re still an asshole,” Lance murmured, lips bruised red with their kisses.

Keith grinned, leaning away and taking in that heavenly sight of a rose-coloured Lance, looking so dazed because of him. “Let’s find a way out of here,”

He took Lance’s hand and turned around, but he felt something press against the side of his back, just under his collarbone, and then he felt like the world underneath his feet crumbled. The electric shock to his side felt like a hot burn, scalding and iron red as it pulsated through his skin in a white hot heat. His scream was nothing compared to the screams coming out of Lance’s lips.

He turned, eyes blurry and mind disoriented, legs feeling like jelly as he screeched. He could feel Venom curling inside him, trying to protect Keith, but block out the pain. Who the fuck was shocking him? Looking up, he saw a man in a suit coat looking down at him, holding the battering rod and pressing it deeper into his skin. He screamed as another bolt of lightning siphoned from the rod and drowned him in the pain.

He couldn’t breathe. The man grinned, and Keith recognised that smirk, this was the man that had held Venom captive. This was Dr. Zarkon. The fucking asshole. He forced himself to his feet. He had to get up, he had to do something. If he didn’t, Lance was going to die, Venom was going to die.

But try as he might, two more large men slammed into his side, shoving Lance from his grip and slamming him onto the wall. He grunted as he hit the concrete, seeing stars in the back of his eyes. Looking to his left, he saw Lance was screaming, struggling and yelling at the men holding him down, trying desperately to shove them off, wanting to reach for Keith. Lance almost made it, shoving the man holding him back, and making his way over to Keith. But another man pushed him down to the ground. Lance hit the floor with a thud, groaning ad the large man slumped onto his back, trapping him against the linoleum.

“No. Stop! Please!” Keith cried.

Zarkon pressed the battering ram to Keith’s chest, right over his heart, and spun a dial at the corner end of the rod. The bolts were heard in the air, and Keith could taste the metal on his tongue, could feel the hairs on his body stand on end. He felt like he had erupted in flames, like his heart had stopped beating.

_Please…don’t hurt Lance…_

Zarkon’s voice was sickeningly malevolent over the thundering sound of the battering rod, crackling and humming against his singed skin. “You two are not going anywhere,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ....I'm so sorry.  
>  I am so awful to my poor Keithy boy, I love him and Lance so...  
> Yeah...I'm sorry...
> 
> Change of topic.  
> Who's excited about Kingdom Hearts 3 coming out soon?  
> Ehehe...??


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all!
> 
> So I've been battling that asshole of a virus that's been rocking about and was down for a whole two weeks. I am a lot better now, just got the sniffles and a head ache, but I am so over the cold.  
> It literally floored me and left me with nothing in its wake.
> 
> But I'm back now, and I hope I get better very quickly. Two weeks of my life was just way too much time I wasted.
> 
> Sorry if this chapter seems...weird, I will probably definitely come back and rewrite it so it makes sense. Blame it on a fever induced me.

Lance felt a little vindicated – like a little.

He had gotten a bit of a punch and a kick in with those asshole men before they had thrown his face first onto the ground and basically sat on him. He had definitely felt something crack under his feet when he had whammied one of the guards, and that would be something that would keep him at least a little happy, despite the situation he found himself in.

So yeah, vindication. Just a smidgen.

But then they had upped and separated the two once again, and honestly, Lance was not having any of that. He knew he was somewhat safe here, but he could hear his lovely, gorgeous boyfriend screaming through the vents above him. He could also hear the tell-tale distant sound of lightning and electricity sparking up, followed by the sound of it searing into what was most definitely flesh. He could smell the burning flesh and the lightning in the air, and he was finding it hard to breath.

Stop it. Please, don’t hurt him!

How many times had he screamed that through the walls, hoping and wishing they would hear, that they would stop? But what was he thinking? Had any bad guy in the history of _ever_ just listened to the whims of their captors and actually stopped what they were doing and let them go?

He didn’t think Zarkon was that kind of guy. No at all.

So here he was, tears no longer able to stream down his face, voice hoarse from yelling and yelling and body tired from having to hear hearing witness to his lover being treated and abused like a fucking punching bag. While he was stuck here, unable to move, unable to go to him and help.

Tied to the wall, hands strung so high above him that he was tiptoeing on the cobble like ground to stave off the strain on his arms and shoulders. He had tried to pull, to tug at the bonds. Having gone as far as to completely spin around and push his feet against the wall in an attempt to break through the god damn chains. But it didn't do anything, he was stuck.

All he _had_ done was hurt himself in the process. The blood seeping down his arm had been sluggish at first, but his fingers were cold now, being raised up high and all the blood rushing away from them. God, how long had he been here? How long had _Keith_ been there?

He needed to figure out how to get out of here. _Ay dios,_ if only he could just _do_ something. Only if _he_ had Venom inside him, then maybe he could break through these chains, go there and save his god damn boyfriend and eat the face off the man that had done this to them all. Hell, he'd let Venom chow down on whomever he wanted if he got that as a result.

He paused when he heard something different coming from the opposite room. A scuffling, followed by a scrambling, and then there was a sick thud of a body hitting the ground, followed by whimpering and screaming yet again.

Keith...oh god, Keith, what the hell were they doing to you?

There was a commotion outside. The door to the room holding him captive shuddered and jimmied open. For a scant second, he had thought it was someone coming to save him. But he saw one of those asshole guards standing there, taking one quick sweep of the room and then retreating back out. The door closed with a quiet clang, before locking.

“What the fuck?” Lance pushed himself away from the wall, peering through the small barely there slat at the top half of the doorway. He saw the man standing on the other end, holding his hand to his lapels and speaking into the walkie talkie stuck there.

“The symbiote is not in here boss,” the man spoke, though his voice was muffled somewhat. "We'll continue looking,"

Wait…symbiote. Did Keith get out?

Lance strained, straightening his body as tall as he could go and leaned over to the wall where he knew his lover was. If Keith was out-! God, if Keith was out then—!

He heard the tell-tale sound of Keith’s gasping for breath, his cries louder and harsher now, wet and sickening as he cried his pain into the air. What the fuck was going on? Was this some kind of trick? Why had that asshole guard come in here to check on him if Keith was still in the other room?

“What the hell is happening?”

He didn’t notice the little black sludge slipping down from the vents, slapping uselessly onto the ground before Lance. But he did notice as the small sludge grew in size, shuddering and shivering and bubbling in a weird bubble, until it stood before him, towering over his body. Triangular white eyes appeared on either side of its head, and a wide sharp toothed smile stretched over the bottom half of his head.

“Ven?” Lance asked in a harsh whisper, grimacing when Venom’s tongue slicked out of his lips and lathered Lance’s cheek in a wide circle. “What…how?”

**_“Keithy expelled me,”_** Venom pouted, slick claw like hands reaching out for Lance. **_“Said to save you…need host…won’t last long Lancey…”_**

“Wait, Keith _expelled you?”_ Lance asked, looking back over to the wall in hopes to see his lover.

**_“Ven is not happy, Keithy was safe with Ven inside,”_** Venom’s eyes were downcast, and his body was slowly starting to deteriorate, moving over on itself like a weird wave, one cell breaking and a new one taking its place as he tried to stay in the oxygenated world around him. **_“And now Keithy is getting hurt because he wants Lancey and Ven safe…”_**

That stupid asshole had thrown out the one thing that was keeping him alive in there, just so they would be safe? Keith was going to die just so Lance could escape? What a fucking asshole.

He turned to “Let’s go get our Keithy and tell him just what a bad idea this was,”

**_“Agreed.”_** Venom nodded, he smirked wide, those teeth doing all sorts of glinting as he reached over to Lance. He reached over Lance’s head, the same way Keith would do whenever they would kiss, and pressed his head just next to Lance’s own. **_“Don’t be afraid, Lancey…Ven would do nothing to hurt you either,”_**

Well, that was good to know.

Lance felt those tendrils move all over him, and he shuddered. This felt a lot different to how it usually felt with Keith. Those tendrils were thinner, wrapping around him and slicking his entire body in a weird way. He felt like he was being forced under a waterfall, as if cold water was sluicing all over his body in the shape of Venom’s tendrils.

The tendrils sunk into his skin, one by one, each making a weird schlorp sound that Lance had never heard before. But he let Venom get on with it. Soon, as each of the black tendrils disappeared, he was suddenly engulfed with a familiar feeling. The same kind of feeling he felt whenever he was around Keith. It was sweet, and warm, yet cool at the same time, and it was coming from everywhere.

Whatever this was, it was odd, but at the same time, Lance felt strong, he felt protected. He felt like he could take on the whole world.

**_“Not the whole world, Lancey…just ours.”_ **

Venom’s strength made breaking through the chains feel like cutting through softened butter. He straightened himself out and looked down to himself. He still _looked_ like himself, but he could feel his body was no longer aching, the blood was rushing to his arms again but it didn’t hurt him.

Oh…yes. It was a weird rush. But right now… _he_ was Venom.

“Let’s go get our man, Ven,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yes.  
> Lancey and Ven, ready to save their lover.


	41. Chapter 41

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beauties.  
> Sorry its taken so long to write this, I've been in a bit of a gamers hollow.  
> So, Kingdom Heart's 3 came out and my attention was enthralled once again by my favourite game series of all time.
> 
> Sorry for the neglect! Can you ever forgive me?
> 
> Warning...  
> Keith has really bad thoughts here.  
> Like, be warned. It is not sunshine and daisies.

Keith was an idiot.

Yeah, okay, so he could admit it. He really was a dumb ass.

But as he stood there, arms stretched and chained up to a hook over his head, his body hanging limply, bare toes just barely skimming the concrete ground, body slick with sweat and head buzzing with the aftershocks of the battering ram against different parts of his skin; he was glad that at least this wasn’t happening to Lance.

Though he didn’t know _what_ was happening to Lance. For all he knew, Lance was in an even worse shape than he was.

No, no. He wasn't going to think like that. Lance didn't have Venom inside him, Lance was an innocent bystander who had just gotten caught in the fuck storm that was Keith's life. God, that beautiful man deserved so much better than this. It was all Keith's fault that Lance was caught. He shouldn't have talked to him, he shouldn't have gone and hugged him, he shouldn't have done anything at all. He should have left as soon as he had seen his house had been ransacked by something.

At least then...Lance wouldn't have been caught in this mess.

Leaving him alone in the middle of nowhere with nothing but his car was a dumbass idea. He shouldn't have left Lance alone like that. They were a good team after all. But then again, he shouldn't have  _met_ Lance.

Fuck, he was confusing himself. His thoughts had been swimming ever since the asshole Zarkon had shoved a thousand volts of electricity into him, smirking like the fucking rabid asshole he was, and just watching with glee as Keith screamed and groaned and growled.

He was thankful he hadn’t heard a sound from Lance; then again he wasn’t sure _where_ Lance was. Hell, he wasn’t sure where _he_ was. His head was swimming again, taking the ebb and flow of thoughts as they came and went. Not really able to focus on one thing too long before another attack came from somewhere else.

_God, it hurts so much._

If it weren’t for Venom snarling and sniping and trying his hardest to keep Keith alive and ward off the attacks, shock proofing was what Keith thought he was doing, because he could definitely hear the alien holding back his screeches and screams every time that white hot lick of electricity rushed through their body – Keith knew if it weren’t for the alien inside him, he’d have died a long time ago.

It was funny…in a morbid way.

If it weren’t for him being so weak and nimble and _soft_ , Venom would have been stronger. He'd probably have been able to ward off these assholes without batting an eyelid. Hell, without Keith, Venom would probably been better off, he’d probably have been much safer with a better body, another host who wasn’t a crippled invalid with a tumour in his head. One who actually went out into the world and showed the alien how to live. Not someone who didn’t have any friends, any social life, and anything else but frequent visits to the hospitals and a heavy diet of pills, pills and more pills.

Venom would definitely not be _here_ for one thing. Stuck in this infernal concrete block of a room, sweat and grime coating his skin, breath heady and heavy, eyes barely able to stay open, body shuddering and shaking, Venom would not be _here_.

_Lance would not be here._

He should have just died when he had the chance.

Yes. _Yes,_ that’s a good idea Keith. You can just die. That way Venom would be safe, he could go out, take out all of these assholes because he is the more powerful one. He is the one who can go to Lance, save him and take him out of this hell. _Yes._ Now he just needed to find out how to get Venom out of him, and he needed to make sure that asshole Zarkon didn’t see it, or at least didn’t capture Venom.

“Ven. Go.” Wow, was that his voice? It was so croaky and soft, so… _weak._ He didn’t listen when Venom retaliated, when Venom screeched and questioned, when he told Keith that if he left now Keith would _die._

_Save Lance…please. Just go. I’ll be fine._

He had to believe he would be fine, if only to get Venom out of here. Venom needed to go find Lance, he just had to. They would meld together and then Lance would be the stronger one, Lance would be the one who was safe.

“What are you muttering about?” Zarkon’s voice was a bellowing thick fog in the air, but Keith didn’t pay attention to him, he didn’t pay attention to the battering ram as it sparked before his face, reaching for his chin and forcing his face up to look into those sickening eyes.

“Fuck you,” Keith struggled, eyes narrowing, lips curling and teeth showing as he snarled.

The shock to the side of his cheek ached, it rattled through his teeth and his skull and he cried out a scream that levelled him straight to the ground. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, everything around his stopped for that one pain filled moment. He heard something ringing in his ears, a high tinny sound that deafened him. His eyes blurred until he couldn’t see anything anymore.

He wanted to die.

Opening his eyes, he noticed he _was_ on the ground. The concrete was cold against his skin, almost biting against his cheek. But that was when he figured out what he had to do to get Venom out, to get him _safe_.

He needed more. More pain, more volts, more of everything.

Venom had been forced out of him before because of the frequency, it only made sense he would leave if his host was not hospitable anymore. So he forced himself up, slipping and thudding back onto the ground when his arms couldn’t hold him up.

He heard Zarkon chuckle, chortle and laugh as he watched Keith’s lame attempts to get up. Yes, that was it. Laugh at my weakness. Fucking asshole, he'd definitely need Zarkon to get angry.

“Th-that a-all you g-got?” he breathed out with a growl. Fuck, even his _hair_ was hurting him. "You f-f-fucking a-asshole,"

The laughter stopped, and Keith felt the rod slap to his sides, poking into him, before he felt the heat of the electricity. The blackness had taken over the corner of his eyes, but he felt the warmth that was Venom slowly slither and shudder and slip out of him as Keith forcefully expelled him. His body not able to host the alien any more. He was dying.

_Please…save yourselves…_

It was a surprisingly warm feeling, letting the life drain out of him. He knew that Zarkon hadn’t noticed Venom slip away, what with the way he was still prodding and poking that god damn stick into his side. The volts made his body shudder and jolt, the ache and pain so much more intense now that he didn’t have Venom to buffer it for him.

He felt cold. His life didn’t flash before his eyes, but everything he held dear did. He saw everything, everyone he loved, his family, his father, memories of his mother, his brother Shiro, his friend Allura, meeting Venom, finally talking to Lance, meeting him for the first time when he moved in all those years ago, seeing that beautiful smile stretch across his lips, the way he smelled, the way he looked, the way he spoke, the way he felt in Keith’s arms, the way he shuddered when he came, the way he laughed.

Keith watched as Venom slipped through the vents in the corner of the room, giving one look back in the darkness, before heeding Keith’s wish and slipping away. He was safe now. That was all that Keith needed. 

Hearing the morbid doctor laugh above him, he let the darkness take him.


	42. Chapter 42

Lance was slowly starting to understand just why Keith was so gung ho about looking out for Venom and himself whenever he had to save them both. And he was definitely starting to understand why Keith was so ready and willing to go into violent fights and coming out victorious.

With every step Lance took, he could feel Venom slithering inside him, a weird squelching mess of skin and bones that made him feel stronger, better, faster, _taller_. He could feel Venom’s power inside him burning like fuse leading to a keg of gun powder, just waiting for the right time to go off and destroy everything around him.

It was an addictive and heady feeling.

But he understood.

However, alongside _that_ feeling was the overwhelming freezing cold that was sinking into his skin and muscles, slowly penetrating up from his fingers and toes, slipping and sliding and slithering all the way up his arms and legs like small spiders scuttling their way up his body. He felt the cool like it was his own blood pumping through him, though much more sluggish. He didn’t want to think what would happen if this frozen feeling reached his core, his heart.

He shuddered and pushed the thought away.

They had a more pressing matter to worry about right now. Lance knew Keith had been in the next room, he would never be able to get the sound of his lover in such pain from his mind. He wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard that had made Keith scream like that. But he had to think this through properly. He didn’t want to mess it up. He and Venom only had once chance at this, one chance to get in, wreak havoc, save the gorgeous man they both called their own and get out of there with all of their limbs intact.

**_I like that plan Lancey._ **

Lance grimaced a little at the heavy sound of the alien symbiote in his head. Venom’s voice was loud, and for a moment Lance wondered just how Keith was able to take such a strong, powerful and surprisingly _heavy_ symbiote inside him.

Venom was heavy. Lance felt the pressure of something alien pressing into him, squeezing him in a way that was making it a little harder to breath. He felt sunken, submerged, like he had to actually _think_ about breathing, about moving, about _thinking._

It was so heavy, and so exhausting. He made a promise then and there that as soon as they were out of this, he was going to swaddle Keith up in a blanket and cuddle him until all three of them were no longer so exhausted.

His feet thudded to a stop on the concrete as he stood in front of the closed door holding him captive. His head strained to one side as he peered through large white, triangular eyes. He _was_ a lot taller, he noticed, his head was just above the door, so much so that he had to duck down just to peer through the small slat window.

It was weird.

Shaking his odd thoughts away, he sucked in a breath. He had to focus here. Lives were at stake, pretty lives, ones’ that kissed like a dream, and looked like the very moonlight.

And yes, that was a weird thought.

**_Don’t worry. Keithy has the same thoughts about you._ **

Well, that was nice to know. “When we get out of this, I need to have a nice, long talk with you about just what Keithy thinks about me, okay?”

Peering through the slat one more time, he saw the top of the head of one of the guards, the same one that had come in through the door without rhyme or reason, and had left him in there, confused beyond belief and fearing for his and Keith’s life. Okay, so that wasn’t exactly a good basis for him to actually _kill_ the guy, or harm him. But he knew he had to dispose of the guard somehow.

**_Dispose; yes…let’s dispose of the body._ **

Lance sucked in a breath and slowly held onto the doorknob. He squeezed it and felt the metal give way like clay under his large, black, clawed hands. Sucking in yet another deep breath – though this was wracked with shudders all over his cooling body – he got himself pumped up.

“Let’s do this,”

He barely made it out of his stupor when he opened the door, saw as the guard turn around with wide, shocked eyes, holding his gun out in a bout to shoot at Lance. But he definitely saw the aftermath of the pathetic fight that ensued.

The guard was not there anymore, just a splatter of blood on the ground, and there was this absolutely vile taste on Lance’s tongue. _Ay dios!_ He knew Venom had just eaten the man. That meant that _Lance_ had eaten the man!

Lance wanted to hurl. But the cold seeped in more and more, reaching his elbows and knees, and his thoughts immediately returned to the task at hand. He knew this decrease in his internal temperature was because he was not the right fit for Venom. And that Venom was trying his best not to hurt Lance, just like he had promised.

Lance was just a courier right now. That was all.

And he was going to deliver his package on time.

_Yeah, that pun was just bad…_

He could feel Venom’s gleeful eye roll and sighed. They turned the corridor, and made their way along the wide area before they stopped at a large, metal door. It looked strong, so _very_ strong, and Lance knew that if he didn’t have Venom coursing through him right now, he’d never be able to open that door without some kind of heavy artillery – and yeah, so he was going to cut down on the video games now.

But he could sense Keith was on the other side, he could feel Keith in his very bones, his very essence. It was like Keith was calling out to him, calling out to Venom, and that alone made Lance want to get to him quickly.

Venom’s claws sliced through the metal of the door with such ease that it stunned Lance. _This_ was the power that Keith held inside him all this time. _This_ was Venom when he was angry. He liked it, but at the same time, it frightened him.

The door fell apart like paper under his fingers, and soon there was nothing left to stop him from entering. Venom moved with such finesse, such refined mastery that it almost looked like refined performance art. It was like a dance, with the way he dodged the bullets being aimed at him, the way he climbed the walls and flittered his arms, legs, and body out to stop the men that were aiming to hurt him.

Lance felt the cold, but he also felt the heat of the battle get to him. So lost in the feeling, he not Venom had noticed Zarkon slip through the door and out. If they did, they would have definitely rushed out after him.

But Lance saw Keith lying there on the ground, lifeless. And as the last guard fell in a heap, headless and spasming, Lance slid down to his lover, turning him over and flat on the ground.

“Keith! Oh, dios, no! Please, Keith, wake up carino, despierta,” He held his lover close to his chest, hoping and wishing Keith would wake up. He was desperate to seek out a pulse, not feeling one at his wrist; he pressed his fingers to Keith’s throat and almost wept when he felt the threadlike thudding pulse beating under his fingers.

He leaned in closer, pressing his lips to the corners of Keith’s mouth, not knowing he was crying until he felt the cold leaving him, like water trickling down his body, all the way from his fingers and toes, arms, legs, heart, all the way through to his lips and straight into Keith.

Venom had left him for his true host, and Lance wished with all of his heart that he wasn’t too late to save his lover. He didn’t let go of Keith, holding him close and curving his body around the weak and bruised body. It was only when he felt Keith return his kiss, hazy and soft motions of his mouth against Lance’s own, that Lance gasped, pulling away and seeing him awake.

Keith’s eyes were a little triangular at the edges, teeth like sharp fangs, and he knew that was because Venom was taking care of Keith, fixing him right back up. And he was grateful.

“Lance,” Keith’s voice was croaky as he said his lovers’ name, and Lance really did weep then, tears hot and streaming down his cold skin. Keith’s fingers were hot as they reached up and wiped away at his tears.

“Don’t you dare go pulling such stupid shit again, you hear me?” Lance cried, tightening his hold on Keith and holding him close. He was never going to let Keith go, never again.

But before they could do anything to get their happily ever, he had an asshole doctor to kill.


	43. Chapter 43

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, sorry about the lateness.  
> I've been honing my sketching and drawing skills, and playing Kingdom Hearts 3.  
> So sorry~!
> 
> Hope you like this.

He was back, back to where he belonged.

But there was a lot that Venom wanted to say to Keith, about how he was so upset that Keith hadn’t relied on him to look after him, how he had _expelled him_ and took the brunt of the pain that Venom knew he wouldn’t be able to handle.

How he had _died_ just so he and Lance could be safe. What self-sacrificing idiot did stupid shit like that? Why would Keithy ever do something like that and think he could get away with it? Death was not going to get Venom away from his Keithy, nothing would.

He wanted to say this; and a lot more, but as soon as he slipped into his rightful place inside his host, his Keithy, he really couldn’t think of anything other than just how _good_ it felt to be here. To be back.

It was a familiar sweet heat that rushed over him as he slithered and slipped back into every nook, every crevice, every muscle – including the big one he was packing – that was pure Keith. With Keith, he didn’t have to put in any effort to make sure the body he was inside was going to be able to take him and last for longer than a few minutes.

He had felt cold when he was inside Lance, it was a chill that went all the way to his teeth. He had tried his hardest to make sure Lance was okay, because he would never hurt Lancey, and Keithy would kill him if anything bad ever happened to Lancey.

But, being inside Keith was akin to slinking into a nice hot bath, or of biting into someone’s head and tasting the warm blood as it trickled down his throat. Ambrosia. He took a look at Lancey through Keithy’s eyes and grinned.

Lancey was really pretty, he could wholeheartedly agree with Keithy there. He couldn’t help himself as he reached for Lancey, large claws fingers slipping around the soft and supple skin of his hosts’ lovers’ neck and lowering him down until their mouths met.

It had been too long since they had last done this, and Venom owed it to them all to do this again. He loved the feeling of touching without fear of being hurt, or being eaten, or living your last breath. He wanted to touch Lancey wherever and whenever he could, just to feel the heat, to feel the love they all shared.

Lancey tasted sweet too, just like how he looked. His whispered gasps and moans were eaten by Keith’s mouth, and it made something hot flicker inside Keith. Venom felt it too, the absolute yearning the two had for one another, a sticky, syrupy sweetness that bubbled up inside Keithy and wanted out. Venom wanted to satisfy them both, but this stupid mouth touching kiss was nothing compared to what he really wanted to do.

Damn it, but now was not the time for something like that.

Not that the rest of him was listening to reason.

He hadn’t noticed he had his tongue delving and slipping deep into Lance’s mouth, twisting and curling and tasting every single part he could reach, not until he heard his host’s lover moan and gag a little over it. But Lance’s grip was tight on Keith’s shoulders, dragging him up and closer to that sweetly hot body.

Well, perfect doesn’t add up to Lancey. He was so much more.

“We shouldn’t be doing this here,” Keith’s voice broke through the kiss, muffled and mingling with spit and slick as they _still_ kissed. Lance hummed his agreement, but neither of them made a move to part. Grips instead tightened, lips turned forceful and fingers explored skin.

**_Hehehehe._** This was one of the reasons why he thought Keithy and Lancey together were perfect. They were so lost in one another, and it was a nice feeling. Something that Venom wasn’t used to. It was _good_ not having to worry about someone wanting to kill you because you were roaming on their land, or sitting in their spot. Home was a hard place to be.

Keithy and Lancey were soft.

“Venom, seriously, stop.” Keith grunted, forcing himself away from those arduous lips. “Later, when we’re _not_ in the middle of a battlefield,”

Lance nodded, his eyes glazed over. But they slowly parted ways. “ ** _Later, Keithy.”_**

“Not much later I hope,” Lance grinned, helping Keith up from the ground. He gripped onto Keith’s arm tighter when he felt the other shudder and stumble onto his feet.

Keith held a hand out to Lance, trying to stay on his own unbalanced feet. He could feel Venom coursing through him, the warmth was welcoming, and try to fix what was broken inside him. He knew this was going to take some time to do, but they didn’t _have_ time.

He was going to have to rely on Venom to help him out a lot more here. **_I’m not going anywhere, Keithy. Not anymore._** Grinning when he heard the affirmation, he took Lance’s hand and together they made their way to the door and out.

Looking both ways, they saw it was completely empty before they ventured into the corridor. There was a low screeching siren and flashing red and purple lights spinning in a mad headache inducing wave of hysteria.

Keith stood before Lance, even though he was currently still weak – no matter how hard and how quick Venom was working to fix him, there was just too much damage inside Keith right now. It was taking everything in him to hold Keith up and to keep working on him.

He just hoped this would be an easy move to get out of here.

Of course it wasn’t. But he was still going to hope and do his best to keep Keith moving.

Keith moved like water as he vaulted over to the guards, punching and kicking, claws digging and working through skin and flesh. He thrust the butt of his hand into one of the guards, snapping his claws up as the guard faltered back, and taking the knife from his hands. He spun the knife in his hands and held it up, struggling a little as he slammed the blade into another guards arm and made him drop the gun.

Once both of the guards were incapacitated, he reached for the gun and threw it into Lance’s arms. The Cuban looked at it, and then up and Keith and grinned. Their gazes broke when they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the corridors before them.

“Let’s do this,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They really do make a good team.


	44. Chapter 44

Lance hadn’t ever used a gun like this, Keith could see that. But watching the way his lover moved and spun and aimed and shot, hitting his target almost every time, it was breath taking.

“Paintballing and playing excessive video games,” that was what Lance had said when they had made their way through a few more guards. The sirens loud and alarming in the background as they stood, back to back, looking around to the many, many, _many_ lackeys and guards that were slowly surrounding them.

Why did bad guys even do this? Didn’t these guys have a life? A house and home? Didn’t they see that doing this was bad? That they were just going to die, all because they were the henchmen and bad guys to the even bigger badder guy.

“What the hell am I thinking,” He grimaced to himself as he slid his knife clean through the flesh of a black dressed guard that had held him captive. He forced Venom back this time, the symbiote had already chewed through a good few from the last corridor, and they really needed to make sure he was eating right.

**_You’re acting like a mum, Keithy._ **

“Yeah, well you’re acting like a kid in a candy store!” Keith retorted back as he used Venom’s help to back flip over a guard while Lance spun, holding the gun in his grip and pulling the trigger. The guard slumped to the ground just as Keith landed, knife held back, blade against his arm, as he elbowed and sliced through two more guards.

When the last henchmen fell, they made their way through the empty corridors and all the way to the lifts at the very end. Lance reached out, pressing the call button. Almost immediately it dinged and slid open, as if it was waiting for them.

They stepped into the compartment, Keith cleaned the blade of his knife, blunt side down against his bent elbow, checking it was still sharp after being used so much. He looked up and saw Lance taking out the magazine of his gun and replacing it with a new one – he had been clever enough to take a few of the magazines and guns from the guards that had fallen, and he was using them wisely. Keith watched, entranced, as Lance held the gun out before him, head tilted a little and one eye squinted.

He looked so god damn gorgeous.

For a scant moment Keith had wanted to push Lance back out as the door closed. He still desired deeply for his lover to be safe and away from this hell he called his life. But he remembered what happened the last time they had done that. And he agreed with Lance, they were better, stronger, when they were together.

So he forced those thoughts back – hell, Lance had shown he had a way with guns and could protect himself if need be, his sharpshooter – and reached for Lance. The lift doors closed and suddenly they were left together as the lifts ascended up to whatever hell they were forced into.

Lance looked up at him, smiling a little and reaching for Keith’s outstretched hand. He squeezed it, mentally and physically showing he was there, he was okay, and that they were going to do this together.

His soothing and stubborn will was what made Keith feel a burst of confidence rise inside him. He wasn’t going to lie, he was scared to death about what they were about to do. What did he know about this doctor and his – obviously large array – henchmen? He had spotted nothing and no one other than those soldiers, those guards that they had just cleaned straight through.

And no, he was _not_ going to think about the fact that he _had_ just killed at least ten people out there, normal people who had jobs, families, a life. Nope, he could weep and have sleepless nights about that when this was all over. Right now, he had to focus. He and Venom had to keep Lance safe.

The lifts were slow to ascend, and for that Keith was glad. He had to mentally prepare himself for whatever was going to be on the other end. Fear bubbled in his throat, wanting to burst out in a scream, but Lance’s grip was tight in his hands, and he took his lovers solidarity and confidence.

Lance’s gaze was strong and determined as he nodded to Keith. “You ready?”

Keith nodded, tightening his grip on the hilt of his knife. The lift jolted a little, a thin tinny of a ding sounding as the lift reached the floor. Keith sucked in a breath and prepared himself.

This was it.

The doors were slow to open, and he and Venom were prepared. He manoeuvred Lance behind him, feeling his body being taken over by Venom’s impenetrable skin. He could feel each and every single bullet as it hit his skin, only to bounce off and fall to the ground with a clatter. Looking ahead, he grinned as he saw the fear engraving the five gunmen at the door before him.

“Dinner time, Ven,”

Venom moved with such fluidity, slipping and sliding and grazing, tendrils reaching out, claws razor sharp, teeth gleaming red as he fought and bit and chewed. Keith gave a quick gaze back to the lifts and saw Lance had taken a spot behind an upturned table, keeping his line of sight clear for anyone coming for Keith from behind, shooting at those that dared.

Beautiful.

Turning, Keith saw the man who had held Venom captive, the one who had tortured him, the one who had made his very life a living hell over the past few hours. He stood at the other side of the large room, facing the large glass wall. He was slow to turn, his gaze as menacing as his smirk.

“Welcome home, my little symbiote,” he said; holding is hands out in a mock hug.

Keith could feel the abject hate Venom felt for this man and it fuelled him to move, to get closer to the evil bastard. _Oh, you’re going to eat this fuckers head, I promise you that._ He felt Venom grin, as he made his way closer to Zarkon. There was no one in the way of them now. Just him and the asshole.

But then Venom stopped.

Keith felt his body shudder with a weird sensation, the hairs on the back of his head rising up, goose bumps rippling over his skin. What the hell was happening? Venom’s gaze ran to the corner in the side of the room, and that was when Keith saw what it was that had Venom so spooked.

“Another symbiote?” the slick, black and blue mesh of stars that were similar to Venom’s skin moved, morphing into one another. The bluer symbiote stretched out and dropped to the space right next to Zarkon, the body building from the ground up like some kind of mountainous slime, until it locked together and created the woman he had seen in the motel room, the one who had brought him here.

She held a hand to Zarkon’s extended elbow, fingers curling and wrapping around his arm as she leaned into him. Her skin was sallow, almost grey in colour, her eyes were a yellow and her hair was almost pure white.

She looked so different than what he had seen her when she had kidnapped him. Was the symbiote killing her? Was Zarkon just using her?

He didn’t get a chance to ask, or to ponder. He heard Lance growl and yelp behind him. Within a heartbeat, he turned and reached for Lance, but it was too late. He saw his lover being held against a long, white haired man, arm twisted behind him in the assholes grip. He was struggling, trying to move, but the man’s grip was just too strong for him.

“Lance!” Keith cried out, making his way over to the asshole that was holding his lover captive. But the woman appeared before him, slime zipping up into his face and grinning.

“Pay attention to what’s really important, like me,” she stated, her eyes a wide yellow, and her skin much more grey. She looked frail, but her punch to his gut was anything but. Keith let out a grimace as the woman’s fist connected, his body bending forward at the punch.

Fuck!

**_We need to get out of here!_ **

_Not without Lance._ Keith grunted as he tried to block another punch, the whiplash throwing him back against the wall. The woman didn’t give him a chance to breath; she was on him again, this time clamping a hand on his head, claws digging into his skull.

The pain was a screaming ache against his body, and he screamed as the claws sunk in, squeezing and pressing at his skull. He felt liquefied, sliced and dismembered, he felt like his whole world was shattering before him. Pain. So much pain.

Hearing Lance’s scream filling the air fuelled his anger. He needed to get out of here, he needed to save Lance. He pushed back against the wall and leaned into the claws, forcing the knife like nails in deeper, but at the same time, it forced her back. Biting back the pain, he held his palms up and thrust hard into the woman’s stomach. She stumbled back, but at least this way Keith was free.

His gaze was hazy, as was the rest of him. He couldn’t make out anything at all, even though he knew Venom was trying to best to heal him, to keep him up and steady. But it was just too much. He was too weak, hell they both were right now. This was the worst time to come into such a hard fight, _and with another symbiote._

They needed to get out of here.

But how?


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh good Lord, over 70k.  
> I'm doing it again aren't I....

Everything had happened so fast that even Keith wasn’t sure just what the hell had happened.

The attack had been so quick, so swift and so sudden that he hadn’t had a chance to think. Glass shattered all over the ground, shining brightly at against the beaming and blinding artificial lights coming from what was once the bay windows on the other side of the room.

He heard the deafening patter of the propellers swiping the air, the sound of an engine roaring and making his heart beat madly. He couldn’t see anyone or anything against the bright beam. He couldn’t make out anything in the sudden smoke and detritus that took over the air. Misty, muggy and lung clogging, as he tried to hide his eyes from the brightness.

He heard the thin thunks of what he thought was ropes and wires and whatever else hitting the ground, followed by heavier thuds of boots hitting the ground, followed all to quickly by bodies.

Keith hadn’t had a chance to think. He had just reacted.

He didn’t take the chance to care, because in those few blessed seconds, he was no longer at the full attention of Zarkon. He turned, swiftly jumping up when he heard the tell-tale zing of bullets ricocheting in the air. He could feel the displacement in the air when they passed him, missing him by mere centimetres.

Ducking himself down low, he finally spotted Lance through the mist. The asshole who had taken captive of him had his hands over Lance’s mouth, stifling his cries, and was dragging him bodily across the room and to the stairs. Keith growled Venom grinned, and together they moved across the ground like they were on ice skates, zipping and zinging and slipping, sliding and spinning as the guards tried their hardest to try and capture him.

The other symbiote was on him, he could smell her in the air, a sick fire-flesh like scent that made his stomach convulse. But he had a mission, he had a very important priority, and it did not include the other symbiote.

Venom was glad for the distraction, and lowered himself to the ground, tackling the shins of the guard hidden in the mist. He twisted and turned the man until they lifted up into the air and fell directly into the symbiotes way. The other symbiote didn’t see the projectile man coming, until it was too late. She stumbled back, taking hold of the guard, her mouth wide, teeth sharp, and she chomped down on him, cleaving him clean in half.

But Keith didn’t see. Hell, Keith didn’t care.

He saw the asshole take Lance to the stairwell, the door closing slowly at his dragged feet. Keith knew he didn’t have a lot of time. Forcing himself, he leapt up into the air, tendrils slipping out and grasping onto the corner of the doorway, out into the small well that had the lifts and the stairs. The door closed behind him, and he knew it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

Slipping in through the door, he growled low when he heard Lance gasping and yelling, taunting and screaming at the man to let him go. He heard the sounds of a gun going off, and for a moment his heart stilled. His entire world cracked.

And then he heard Lance scream again, profanities, followed by another clatter of something metal falling to the ground. Lance no longer had his gun.

Keith slithered down the steps, tendrils grasping and railings and dropping down to the bottom ground. Who needed to take the stairs anyway? It was only when he dropped the entire way down that he finally met Lance and the asshole kidnapper.

He stood as tall as he was able, chest puffed and wide, eyes narrowed and fangs bore as he growled. The man looked at him, eyes widened in shock. Keith was glad for it, because this asshole wasn’t going to get away with taking what was his, god damn it.

“Let him go,” Keith said through his growl, rage burning like a wild fire in his gut. He had to get Lance to safety; he had to get him out of here. He could hear the commotion upstairs and he knew Lance had no reason to be stuck in such a warzone.

The man looked at him, long hair tied high up in a ponytail, eyes wide and slightly yellowing. “How dare you, do you know who I am?”

“A walking, talking L’Oréal advert,” Keith glowered, rolling his eyes. They narrowed and pinned up at the corners, whitening out. His teeth sharpening all the more as he spoke once again, repeating in the most menacing voice he had ever heard come out of Venom. “ ** _Let him go_** ,”

It seemed to have shocked the man enough, because he faltered, and in that falter, Lance took that moment to push himself out of his grip. He stumbled onto Keith, arms clasping tight around his waist and holding him close. He looked up into those upturned violet eyes, seeing the violence and rage turn to such sweetness when they met.

The long haired L’Oréal advert glowered, reaching for Keith and Lance, but was stopped by an array of bullets directed at him from above. Looking up, Keith was startled to see a familiar face, holding onto a gun and shooting down as if they had been doing this for years.

“Krolia?” Lance asked, looking up and seeing the woman they had stayed for that one night with. She was in all black, her eyes narrowed, her hair tied up in a tight tail, and her growl tight and clean as it reverberated through the stairwell.

They were just about fifteen floors below her, with the stairwell turning and giving only a minimal amount of space. But her next shot had been so precise, so perfect, there had been no ricochets, nothing, just a straight, clean shot right between the L’Oréal advert’s feet, making him gasp and jump back, hiding behind the stairwell.

“Get out of here now,” She yelled to them, her voice echoing through the metal stairs, as did her boots as she made her way down the stairs double time.

Keith nodded, giving the L’Oréal advert one last look and pushing Lance to the door behind them. They met the open air, glad to be out of the prison. He saw an array of cars lined on his right, and a gaggle of soldiers making their way into the building on his left.

He spotted another familiar face in the distance, large circular glasses gleaming as Pidge waved at them, calling them over. Lance grinned, taking Keith’s arms and dragging him across the tarmac and to the car on the other end.

But they barely made it half way before the female symbiote dropped down before them. Her fall was so harsh and hard that she cracked the ground below her dainty feet. She stood up straighter, her body morphing and spreading out until she was purely the symbiote, no longer the pretty woman he had seen standing next to Zarkon.

Keith could feel Lance shudder in his arms, and he knew what he had to do. He knew he was still healing, and he knew Venom needed to be at full power right now. So he thought the wildest thing he could think of in that moment.

Venom caught on to his thought and grinned, and Keith knew then that his wild idea would actually, maybe, probably, work.

“Two is always better than one, right?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Eye of the Tiger plays in the background*
> 
> It's getting real ya'll!


	46. Chapter 46

There were so many people around them, the heat of the guards’ guns lining the building above them, red dots sprayed over their bodies. He knew this was going to be tough.

It had been hard for him to just stand there, slowly feeling the world seep out around him. He was starting to get cold, standing there. His legs were shuddering, his chest was aching, and his head was throbbing. He knew that Venom was trying his damn best to keep him alive and up long enough to escape this hell they found themselves in. But Keith knew what he had to do.

And hell, even Lance agreed with this absolutely crazy plan. Keith had seen just how Lance was able to host Venom, though not for a long time – Venom had given him snippets of how he had done his best to look after Lance, even though Lance was not his real host, and that he had been shivering and shuddering and _cold_ the entire time, **_not like you Keithy, you’re all warm and toasty, but I didn’t want to hurt our Lancey._**

It was sweet to see just how close Venom had gotten to Lance as well. They really did love their Lancey.

Maybe they could bypass the whole him feeling cold thing, if Keith was still the host in this situation. If he was able to stay the host, but _use_ Lance’s strength, then maybe they could find a way through this. He was confusing himself. So instead, he pushed away thinking and acted.

Standing in the middle of the tarmac, spot lights from the helicopters above, and the building towering behind them illuminating them all, Keith looked ahead of him, to the pearly blue symbiote standing before them. She was just standing there, as if she were waiting for them to make the first move. That didn’t feel good at all.

He already knew he was weak, weakest right now. She didn’t have to rub it in by letting them have the first hit. It was a harsh reality; feeling like it was thickening his blood and making him want to lash out in rage. But that was just what she wanted, wasn’t it. That was just what Zarkon wanted. For him to mess up, to act on instinct and emotion and not logic.

He was not going to fuck this up, this was the only way they could get out of this whole thing in one piece – or at least alive, he wasn’t going to lie, he knew something was going to go wrong. And his plan just _had_ to work. There was nothing else they could do right now except let these ideas happen. And it _had_ to work.

He held Lance close, dragging him until his back was pressed to his front. Lance was just a little taller than him right now, by a few inches, but maybe that would help them in the long run. He could feel Venom give his consent to this idea, and he saw Lance nod his head. They were all in on this together after all.

They made a good team.

Venom was quick in his slick moves, letting his tendrils do the talking for him. Keith felt him stretch out, arms moving, hands reaching forward and pressing crossed over Lance’s chest, tendrils slithering out from his fingers and meshing all over Lance’s chest, his torso, his neck, spreading all the way down his hips, his thighs, his legs, his feet; spanning over his shoulders, his arms and his fingers.

Lance leaned his head back, letting the cool feeling of Venom wash over him, his soul reaching out for the brazier heat at his back, around his body. Keith was so warm, and Venom was so cold, it was an electrifying shuddering clash of sensations that washed over him. So lost in the sensations, he didn’t notice that Keith had sagged back onto the black symbiote, leaning back against the slick and tight grip as he grasped onto Lance, keeping him close, _needing_ him close.

_He needs to rest,_ Lance thought to Venom, and he felt Venom agree, that slick tongue reaching down to press against Keith’s cheek. Which was all kinds of odd, because he was currently encasing them both but facing them on the inside of his protective bubble he had created.

They’d let Keith sit back on this one, but they’d have to make sure they got out of here alive. No holding back.

Suddenly, Lance felt Venom’s focus turn to the fight ahead of them. The clash of hot and cold simmered somewhat, and Lance knew that was because Venom was still within Keith, but using Lance’s strength to compel him to move forward. And move forward he did. Much swifter now than he had been with just the sickly Keith, Venom moved with such grace over the tarmac, slinking as close as he allowed himself to the female symbiote. The blue of her skin shimmered in the spotlight. It would have been so beautiful, had it not been for that slick smirk on her fanged mouth.

“It’s’ go time,” Lance said, using Venom’s mouth to speak.

The female symbiote smirked, looking down at them from her immense height. Her feet were thin and pointed, adding to her height. Venom did the same, standing on his toes until he was the same height as her. He was also much bigger, wider, yet by no means stronger. Lance could feel the quiver in Venom as they moved swiftly, laying the first punch on the blue symbiotes side. She grunted, and shifted a little at the move, and that made Lance smile. At least he could hit her and she would feel it.

Like a gunshot, the blue symbiote moved, claws out and slicing through Venom, but he dodged the attacks, like he was used to it. Each hit they made was like a fire cracker, sparking and making an odd thudding and clanging sound and fist met muscle, as fangs bit skin, and as nails dug into flesh.

But she was just that little bit stronger. With each hit he gave, she gave three back, with each claw his stroke down her, she dug deeper, with each bite, she clawed at his flesh. He knew he was draining as he and Venom fought, and he knew why.

Even with the bad guy before them, and Keith sleeping beside him, Venom was still doing his damn best to not hurt Lance, to freeze him like he had been before. Lance growled, holding onto the blue symbiotes hands as they clashed heads, pushing her back with all of his and Venom’s might, but she had the upper hand here, and Lance knew she always would unless Venom got his act together.

Venom vaulted away, down on one knee, leaning on one hand, breathing heavily. He looked up and Lance noticed the array of spot lights had decreased, the white noise of the helicopters hovering over them was the only sound he heard now, and it was hard to hear anything else.

Oh. Okay, so maybe Venom wasn’t trying to do it the gung-ho way, maybe he was buying them time. They both knew they wouldn’t be able to defeat this war machine symbiote without at least some outside help. Maybe that was why Venom was slower with his punches. Maybe that was why he was letting her have the upper hand. So she thought she was winning, so she thought she could fight him.

He was buying time.

And that was good, because he could clearly see there were _less_ people pointing guns at them now. Less of the bad guys, and he knew he had Krolia and her team to thank for that. He just had to keep the symbiote busy.

He could do that, _they_ could do this.


	47. Chapter 47

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all of those who...did not ask for it, let's be honest, ya'll are here for the ride and a good time aren't ya?
> 
> A Krolia centered chapter, because I freakin' love her to pieces and desperately desire for her and Keith to have a loving and healthy relationship as mother and son. Because they both deserve that and so much more.
> 
> That, and Krolia is a freakin' bad ass and she deserves this to be yelled out loud and proud.

Krolia knew what she was doing. She had been training for this moment her entire life.

Battle born and battle ready. That was the essence of what made her who she was today. So she wasn’t scared when she was suddenly surrounded by large and intimidating guards, all standing in a neat and pretty circle, all of them holding large guns, the barrels pointed in her direction.

Instead she laughed. She was so special that fifteen guards had to stop her? They obviously didn’t know just who she was, or how hard she had worked to get here today. Because if they did; they would have left her and saved themselves the hurt.

She grinned, holding her hands up and dropping the gun she had to the ground. She saw the guns pointed at her waver, trembling as the people holding them decided what to do. Those few extra seconds was all that she needed.

She held her hands up in the air, mocking surrender, seeing the looks on the guard’s faces as they lowered their guns all the more. Dumb asses. She flexed her thumb, pressing a small button on her gauntlets, and two thin blades slicked out from the gauntlets, elongating until they took over her arms, all the way to her elbows.

She grinned.

They’d never know just what hit them.

One by one, they fell to the ground in a heap, guns clattering and bodies thudding. She spun full circle, making sure she didn’t miss one. When all of them fell into a messy circular heap, she pressed the button on her gauntlet again, kicked at the gun closest to her feet and caught it as it leaped into the air. Checking the chamber, she nodded when she saw it had a full round in it.

Slinging it onto her back, she picked up another gun and held it to her side. She had lost Lotor as soon as her boys were free from the building. The slippery eel could run faster than she had anticipated, and it was probably because he had that extra symbiote juice running inside him – he was after all the aftermath of a symbiote and a human procreating.

Slippery little thing he was, it just made him all the more harder to kill. But he had threatened and kidnapped her boys. He had come into her home, her safe haven, and taken advantage of the one place her boys could come and rest. He was going down with a bullet to the head, and it would be all because of her. She was planning on it.

Making quick work of the floor, she looked down the spiral like stairwell leading to the ground floor and instead rushed up to the roof top. She was a better shot anyway. The guns she had may not have been the best for such a faraway shot, but they were better than nothing.

Throwing the door open, she noticed two other guards were here, peering through their sniper scopes. It was as if the gods had blessed her on this fateful day. She was slow to move, glad the roar of the helicopter whirring above them with a thick spotlight pointed down to the ground was too loud for the guards to notice her arrival. She was quick to shoot them, watching them fall and making sure they were down. She picked up the scope sniper gun pointed over the corner and moved it closer to the other scope sniper gun.

Checking the scope, she grinned when she saw her men making quick work of the guards in the surrounding area, protecting the two scientists and the large doctor that had brought her boy to her. They were safe, and she would make sure they stayed that way. Manoeuvring her gun, she frowned when she saw her boy, her little Keith, looking worse for wear as he stood in front of Lance, holding his hands out and acting like a weak shield. Her boys!

Krolia almost jumped when she heard a crash of glass shatter a few stories below her. She growled, seeing the blue speckled symbiote landing on the ground before her boys. Taking her position at the closest sniper gun, she pointed the barrel at the guards closest to her and started shooting.

The guards fell like a house of cards, one by one and some all at once as she shot each and every one of them in quick succession. She could feel the physical confusion that curdled through each of them as they tried to figure out just where she was. She almost missed her shot when the sound of a radio crackled from the fallen guard next to her.

“Are you guys okay up there?” The sound was broken, crackled through the mashed walkie talkie. Quiznak, if they found out that she was up here instead of the two guards, then her cover would be blown and she’d not be able to help her boys.

She spotted the man holding the walkie in his hands, his mouth mimicking the same words she heard of the talkie. Well, no longer. The bullet zinged through the air and right into his flesh. He fell to the ground, and her cover was safe.

“…where…who the hell…” She shot once more to the other man she could see was holding a walkie to his mouth. He fell in a heap to the ground as well.

The walkie sparked again, and Krolia rolled her eyes. This was turning into some morbid game now; find the walkie in the mass of guards below, before they found out that the snipers were not who they expected to be, and where she was.

She was surprisingly glad for the giant spot light on the area. It made this macabre Where’s Walkie game all the more interesting. After all, she’d do anything for her boys. One by one, she changed the sniper guns each time she found the walkies, heard the people talking, and one by one they fell to the ground until there was barely anyone left.

It only lasted as long as the moment she spotted her beautiful boys turning into the gigantic symbiote before her. Large bodied, broad shouldered, barrel chested and sharp fanged, he grinned as he took slow steps over to the other symbiote, moving with a slightly slower speed than she had expected.

She moved the sniper, trying to find her Keith or her Lance, but she couldn’t see either of them. Oh god, they were _both_ inside the symbiote weren’t they? Was that even possible? Oh god, if the symbiote needed both Keith _and_ Lance. Then what had happened to her Keith that they couldn’t take just one person? Was he still alive in there?

The black symbiote was moving a little faster now, slapping and slicing and punching his way through the other blue symbiote. But she could see the other one was too strong. She held a tighter grip on the gun, focusing on the blue symbiote, but grunted when she just could not find a good enough shot. They were moving just too fast for her.

God damn it.

It was up to them now. But she wasn’t going to stop. She was going to do her damn best to try and help. She growled at the roar of the helicopter above her, and an idea rang through her head. Making sure there was no other guard on the ground that could cause any other problems for them, she lifted the sniper gun out of the tripod and lay with it on her back. Holding the gun, with the butt on the ground by her shoulder, she spied through the scope until she was lined up perfectly with the back turbine of the helicopter, and shot a bullet straight through it.


	48. Chapter 48

Venom was losing.

Lance could feel it deep inside him, the cold on his front was quickly taking over the heat on his back. Venom was wilting, withering, each punch that less focused, every kick, that less strong. Every jump, dodge and manoeuvre feeling like extra work.

It was a weird instinct Lance could feel while he was merged within Venom, but he knew Venom was doing everything he could to keep them both alive inside him. He was protecting Keith, protecting Lance, and therefore not looking out for himself. It wasn’t working. _This wasn’t working._

He slammed his palms into the other symbiotes chest, throwing her back a few feet. She crashed into the parked cars a few feet away, down for the moment. Venom stumbled to the ground, landing on his knees as he did so. This wasn’t going to work. Lance knew what he needed to do.

“Expel him,” He said harshly, grunting when Venom tried to get up but stumbled back onto his knee. _“Expel him, and take me.”_

**_You are not my host, you will die._ **

Lance knew that, he knew what he was throwing away; his life, his _entire_ life, his family, his home, everything that made him exactly who and what he was right now. The grip on his chest tightened, and he looked down to the arms wrapped around him, nails digging into his skin, hot and heady. He felt the strong and warm chest on his back, the long mullet hair tickling his neck as Keith recuperated. He felt all of this, he knew what he was losing, and yet…

His family would be devastated with his decision; his mami would be so upset. But they’d understand. He did this to save the city after all. Hell the world! And when he was done, the world would continue without him, the earth would still turn, except for the better once they took down the asshole and his experiments.

Keith would still be alive.

“Not without you, dumbass,”

The sound was euphoric as it reverberated in his head, lips moving against the curve of his neck. He forgot that now that they were all merged together, they had this symbiotic wavelength between all three of them. Keith could hear his thoughts, feel the same things he was feeling, and for a moment Lance felt like the luckiest idiot in the world.

“I’ve got to do this,” Lance replied, reaching up with Venom’s arms to wrap around himself, feeling Keith’s arms tighten around him. “You’ve _got_ to survive,”

He felt the slick nick of teeth at the curve of his neck as Keith reprimanded his thoughts. "Yeah...no, that's not gonna happen,"

But before Lance could utter another word, before he could _think_ outside of the bond between Venom and Keith; he felt the cool slither of Venom’s body retreat from him. Slithering tendrils slinking from his chest, around his shoulders, stretching off his legs, his arms, his face, until he was standing before Venom, looking straight ahead to the carnage before him, the carnage he and Venom and Keith had created together.

Venom’s large arms crowded around him, lifting him up from the ground. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? We’ve got to save the world!”

“I _am_ saving the world,” Keith replied, his voice prominent over Venom’s low growl. “I'm saving _my_ world,”

Lance’s eyes widened. And his heart started beating madly in his chest. Stunned, he didn’t notice Keith placing him behind an overturned car in the parking lot, and leave him with a small tap of his lips on Lance’s reddened cheeks. But he definitely noticed when Keith turned and made his way back to the fight. The female symbiote having gotten up and out of the wreckage and was slowly making her way over to them.  

“You fucking asshole, you can’t just _say that!_ ”

Keith grinned, standing in a fighters stance. He knew Lance was safe, and he knew Venom would use him to his extent. He knew he was going to die, this was going to be the last day he would stand, he would breathe, he would _be._ But, he was safe, more importantly, _Lance was safe._ He was going to use all of his strength, all of his power, to take this symbiote down. And then, when the dust settled, he was going to die with a smile on his face.

He had a great last few weeks of his life. He met a great new adventure in Venom, had some awesome fights, won those fights. He got to talk to Lance…he got to hold Lance…he got to _kiss_ Lance.

Looking up at the blueish blur of symbiote before him, he gritted his teeth. She was weakening, he noticed. Though he was worse off, he could see that he had caused some damage to her. And that meant that he was doing _something_ right.

He just had to keep going.

“You ready Ven?” When he heard the hesitant, but confidently positive reply from the symbiote, he grinned. “Let’s do this,”

Taking a heavy step forward, he almost dropped to the ground when he heard an inhuman screeching and screaming sound above him. Looking up, he saw the helicopter that had been hovering above him shudder, the back tail propeller suddenly catching on fire and causing the helicopter to pinwheel. It slammed right into the other helicopter a few feet away, the propellers slicing through the other helicopter’s body, and causing it to erupt in a ball of fire.

Instincts took over, and Keith dived for where he had left Lance. The car shuddered back and Keith saw Lance sitting there, looking up to the fiery ball as it hurtled down to the ground, crashing straight into the building and making it crumble. Keith climbed over Lance, covering his entire body. He didn’t know if Venom would be able to survive this, he knew he wouldn’t. But he wasn’t about to let even a scratch hurt his lover.

The helicopters fell a few feet away from them, the heat intense on his back, the sound deafening to his ears. He could hear the commotion of the people around him. But he didn’t move, covering every inch of Lance, protecting him, keeping him safe. Until he was sure everything was okay.

Once the commotion simmered down somewhat, he looked back to the mess. There was fire, and debris, and heat and screaming and oh gods…blood everywhere! But the symbiote, the one they had been fighting. She was…where was she?

His gaze darted over the entire area, his heart feeling like it had stopped. But when he saw Shiro and the others standing behind a giant van, peering out through the doors, he was relieved. At least they were safe. Why were they even here! It was so dangerous!

He heard Lance groan and he looked down to his love. Lance looked a little worn as he lay in Keith’s black arms, his skin sweaty and dirty in places, his soft hair in a spiky mess. But he was okay, he was safe.

The same could not be said for himself. He could feel the strain of the heat on his back, his body was sagging. Though this was not the time to rest, he would not allow himself to stop fighting.

“Oh dear, now look what you’ve done,” The voice was slick and thick with a feminine and masculine mixture of sounds. Looking up to where the sound was coming from, Keith gasped when he saw Zarkon. The man was standing in the space before him, just in front of the fiery helicopter carnage. His skin was a spackled mess of black and blue.

The symbiote had gone inside him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boss battle!


	49. Chapter 49

The final battle.

After all of this, after everything he had been through, the hospital trips, the lack of social life, the pain, the ache, the surgeries, everything. He knew life was going to be this shit, that this was the way it was all going to go down.  

He wasn’t about to let that stop him, though.

Standing up straighter, he clenched his large, blackened hands into fists, holding his head high, fangs razor sharp and gaze zoned in one on thing, and one thing alone.

Zarkon.

He stood there, pale skin meshed with blue, making him look an odd shade of purple. The moon light was stark in the sky, the flames of the destroyed helicopters licking upwards like a torrential tower of metal and heat. It made everything look all the more menacing.

_Can we do this?_

Keith was nervous, his body shuddering as he forced himself to stand still. He wasn’t going to lie and say he wasn’t scared, he was petrified. His life was flashing before his very eyes, hurtling him through one pathetic memory after another.

And then he had met Lance, remembered the first time Lance had moved into the apartment opposite him, turned and said hello to him, almost dropping his groceries to the ground in the process. Hearing Lance laugh at a stupid joke he had said. With Lance, Keith had started to appreciate his death sentence, he had started to like going to the hospital appointments to meet Shiro and Allura, he had actually _liked_ the fact that he had only a few months left to live.

It still pained him, but it had got him to think about life, about what he was missing, about what he could do. He had no consequences to worry about after all.

**_Together. We can do anything._ **

It all seemed so very hazy. Standing there, being almost comforted by the raging inferno. He readied himself for the foe that was about to oppose him. For a moment, he wished he had a weapon, something at all. But he took Venom’s strength, let it course through him, hoping the power within – or whatever bullshit else excuse he was forcing his brain to come up with to win this impossible fight – would help him.

He just hoped it was enough.

It felt odd, waiting there in silence, not a single word was uttered. Not a single noise was made; just the roaring of the flames and the bated breaths of the others standing safely far away. He had seen the enemies’ bodies dropping one by one, heard the zing of a sniper bullet as it glided through the air.

He knew someone up there was helping him out, and he was grateful.

A strong gust of wind rushed passed, ruffling their hair and clothes. Keith growled at the immensity of it, but kept his gaze locked on Zarkon. He was still standing there, tall and sickly purple, he was running his gaze over them, over everything.

And that was when Keith knew what was happening, why he wasn’t attacking straight away. He remembered when he and Venom meshed together. The ephemeral lights that shone like fireflies over everything, shimmering so bright that it caused a panicked ache to his head. He had been thankful he had slept through the intensity of it. But he knew.

_Zarkon can’t take it._

This was good news. He leered at the man, dropping down onto his haunches, fists pressed to the ground. He gathered strength in his legs and pushed forward, pressing his knuckles down onto the ground and vaulting up from the ground. He raised his fists into the air, holding them together, and slamming them down onto the purple man.

Zarkon looked up, moving quickly and dashing out of the way as Keith ploughed his fists onto the ground. Jumping up again and slamming his hands into the taller man, hitting him again and again, getting sick pleasure from grunts and growls of pain that escaped from his mouth. Tarmac rose up in small spats as Keith pushed Zarkon back, like a weird dance, feet sliding and slapping against the crackling ground, the kick of the hits bellowing through the air and right into Zarkon.

Keith smirked as the tarmac settled, and once the dust cleared away, he growled. Zarkon had been hit, but he was still standing there, looking worse for wear, face marred with red and black, bruises turning a sick pinked red. Zarkon growled back, just as threateningly, and dropped down onto his haunches, just as Keith had done, and copied the symbiote.

He rose up into the air, slamming his fists down onto the ground. Keith’s eyes widened as he crashed back onto the cars, slamming onto the ground as Zarkon’s fists caused the debris to rise.

_What the fuck?_

Keith winced at the ache on his chest. Of course Zarkon was just going to copy his fucking attacks. It was just like the asshole to do something like this. He grit his teeth. “ _What are we going to do?”_

“There is nothing you can do,” Zarkon replied loudly, raising his hands up and powering through right into Venom, slamming fist upon fist into the man. The air stilled as Zarkon reached down, mouth wide, fangs sharp as he dug his teeth into the flesh of Keith’s shoulder.

Keith screamed at the pain, clawing and scratching at the man’s face, his eyes, his cheek, his mouth, slicing wounds into his meshed skin. He heard Lance calling his name, but prayed his lover would not interfere. Lance would not survive this, he wouldn’t last long, not the way Keith and Venom would.

Suddenly, Zarkon stopped, being forced back by something. And then Keith heard them, those blessed sniper shots zinging melodiously through the air. They landed with such grace right into Zarkon, making him stumble back onto the whipped earth underneath them.

The snipers shots were followed by the sounds of guns being cocked out of their safety, pointed directly at Zarkon. A blinding spotlight shone from behind the wired fences keeping the others away, swinging in the air before it too landed on Zarkon’s growling form.

“The cavalry have arrived,” he grinned, watching as Zarkon’s eyes widened in shock. And then the gunshots fired rifling and ricocheting through the air in a thunderous sound.

Keith didn’t stop to take on the massacre that would be the end of the man that had started all of this. He rushed over to where he had left Lance, safely ensconced between the cars. He saw Lance crouching down, arms over his head. Keith sprawled over him, fists lodged to the ground on either side of Lance.

He took one glance over to the mass of purple and blue, seeing as the shots shimmered in the air and slammed into the symbiote, causing Zarkon to scream and writhe, dropping to the ground in pain.

This felt too easy.

He hadn’t known he had said that out loud, until Lance replied, grasping up into him. “What do you mean?”

The soldiers had taken over, and in a whirlwind of confusion, Keith suddenly found himself wrapped in Shiro’s arms, while Lance was pried away from his grip and drawn into Allura’s arms. Doctors’ were checking his shoulder, saying words that Keith did not pay attention to, Venom having retreated back into him when he was moved. This was…this was all too surreal.

He looked back to the soldiers, who had taken to strapping Zarkon down with thick white ropes, circling around him and tightening to his large body, restricting him. The familiar, harsh sound of a frequency Keith remembered all too well rang through the air, dulled as it was pointed the other way from him, and straight at the symbiote.

Keith watched in awe as the blue symbiote was stripped away from Zarkon, screaming in bloody murder as she was forced into something large, the cylinder Venom had been in. Keith remembered it from the memories he and Venom shared.

The symbiote was slipped into the chamber. Inside she was screaming and writhing, biting and snapping at each gunned soldier that came close to them. But she was gone. And Zarkon was down for the count.

**_It’s over Keithy…we are safe._ **

Keith nodded. He gazed up at Lance, seeing those gorgeous blue eyes look at him with such awe, with such happiness. This was over; they could go back to being themselves again, being so sickeningly in love, living a _normal, happy life…_ with an alien in his head.

It was…over? No. This couldn’t have been it. Right?

It felt…

…too easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun duuuuuuun...
> 
> It did seem a little too easy right?  
> What are we forgetting? Hmmm?


	50. Chapter 50

“That was too easy.” Keith murmured, pacing back and forth in the space by Lance’s bed. "Why was it too easy? It should have been harder, it should have been... _not easy..._ "

Once the check-ups had all been done, and the doctors deemed them all okay, Shiro had taken hold of both Keith and Lance and had personally driven them to the apartment. With Keith’s apartment still getting “worked on” as Hunk had aptly put it, they had all piled into Lance’s apartment. Shiro made sure everything was okay with them before he left the house, telling them to lock up tight.

And then they had been alone, tired from the fight and just happy to be together.

If only Keith would calm down.

Lance sat on his bed, legs crossed, hands on his legs, back of his hands pressed up on his knees, imitating a meditative yoga-esque pose. He gazed up at his love, watching as Keith paced back and forth, his hair dishevelled, body taut. He looked  _hot._

“Babe, you need to rest,” Lance stated, reaching up as Keith passed him for the umpteenth time. He took hold of Keith’s arm and tugged, making the larger man sit him down in the spot right next to him. He turned, placing his hands on either side of Keith’s thighs, leaning into him. “I am here to help you let it all go,”

“That sounds perverted,” Keith murmured, his cheeks bursting a bright red as Venom took over. **_“Listen to the man, Keithy, he knows what’s right,_** you’re both going to kill me, _”_

Keith rolled his eyes, “But—“

“Look, in these past few weeks we’ve been together,” Lance started, turning Keith so they were facing one another now. “I have learned that we really need to live for the moment,”

“ ** _And it’s not as if we ain’t gonna do it tonight,_** ” Venom piped in.

A darker blush rose to both Keith and Lance’s cheeks, but they couldn’t look away from one another. The small dial clock on the side table at the head of the bed chimed lightly, indicating the time and that it was indeed very late into the night.

“He’s not wrong,” Lance grinned, breaking their trance, and pushed Keith down onto the bed. Keith fell with a shocked gasp onto the plush of the mattress and looked up to see Lance lying next to him. He looked up at the ceiling, letting his thoughts rush through him. Keith really wanted to know what he was thinking, what was making him look like that. Like he was scared, worried. Like he was thinking about…well, Keith wanted to know _what_ he was thinking about.

When Lance spoke, Keith was shocked. “Am I a bad person?” he asked.

Keith got up, leaning back on his elbows, and gazed at the beautiful man lying on the bed. “Wha—? Where did _that_ come from?”

"I just...I can't help but think..." Lance let out a breath, memories returning to the passed few weeks they had. "I did nothing, I'm... _nothing,_ "

Keith stilled, shock rushing through him. He went through all the conversations they had had, all the things they had done, and he really didn’t understand what was happening. Where _had_ that thought come from? He really wished he could read Lance’s thoughts. Maybe it would help him understand just what had made the perfect man feel like he this.

“Lance…you, _you…_ ” Keith really wasn’t sure just how to say exactly what he felt. Why was this so difficult? He was better at action anyway. Without hesitating, he moved quickly, vaulting over on the bed and straddling over Lance. His knees sunk into the plush, his hands flat on either side of Lance’s head. "You are absolutely, the most important person in this entire fucking  _thing,"_

“What are you--?” His eyes were wide, a beautiful blue against that caramel softness, plush mouth gaping. Keith pressed a hand to his lips, silencing any type of speech he was going to say.

“You’re not bad, you're not _nothing._ You're perfect,” Keith murmured, pulling away and returning back with another sweet kiss, “You’re beautiful…smart…amazing…kind…thoughtful…”

Lance blinked in surprise, a smile spreading across his lips. Everything suddenly went hot, like a blaze. His senses reeled, demanding more of the man above him. A small whine escaped his lips with Keith dipped his head down and lowered his mouth along Lance’s jaw, pressing slow, soft and sweet kisses along his skin, still murmuring praises, worshiping him. He was tentative, gentle and so passionate it made Lance absolutely mindless with want.

He gripped Keith’s head, dragging him up. “Alright, I get it,” and pressed their lips together.

Lance was getting addicted; moaning at the wonders of that slick, long tongue against his own, taking in the tangy and sweet flavour that made Keith so unique. As if having that hot body pressed against his wasn’t enough. His hands moved up to bury in Keith’s hair, and he marvelled at the low purr like sound that came from Keith’s chest. There was nothing gentle about this kiss; it was passionate, insistent. He clutched at Keith’s body, pulling him close until the man fell onto him. The sudden feel of his weight made Lance feel dizzy, made him feel drunk with desire.

The more Keith kissed him, the more he felt those slick and cool tendrils slither on his skin as Venom came out to play as well, the more Lance’s mewled, gasping for breath as Keith sucked on his bottom lip. It felt so amazing, Keith tasted so sweet. Lance ran his tongue along that plump bottom lip, savouring his taste.

Oh, he was losing his mind.

Keith pulled back, exhaling heatedly. “Lance…”

Lance hadn’t noticed he had wrapped his legs around Keith’s waist, thighs tightening and pulling him closer. But he knew he couldn’t stop now. Keith’s lips found his neck a moment later, lapping at his skin, trailing a path with his tongue along his jaw.

Lance lost all coherent thoughts. He wanted to say something, anything, but Keith’s mouth was on his again, teeth dragging his bottom lip ever so gently.

“Fuck… _Keith,”_ he whimpered, shifting so he was able to move closer, nails digging into his back, dragging down along the slick of his shirt. He felt so content, so safe, he didn’t ever want to move from this embrace; and yet at the same time he felt like he was the prey to a gorgeous predator, hell bent on killing him with those sweet and hot kisses.

“Mine,” Keith breathed against him, claws digging deliciously into his hips, lifting his body up so their bodies were pressed tight together. Lance could feel the heat of Keith searing into him.

It was only natural he reacted. He rocked up into that hard heat, gasping at the sweet friction of their clothed cocks meeting and grinding together. Keith grinned, moving again, this time with more purpose. He slid Lance's shirt up, fingers caressing the smooth exposed waist, his claws dragging hotly against his hip bones, down to where Lance really wanted him.

Keith looked up at him then, looking deep into those eyes, asking for permission. Lance nodded and that was all Keith needed. He swooped down, kissing Lance with such fervor. It felt so amazing. Lance arched up into him, a low eager moan escaping his lips. He carded his fingers through Keith’s hair, rotating his hips, teasing against Keith’s growing heat, eliciting a groan from him.

Keith growled, hands moving from his hips and down to his ass, gripping the flesh and thrusting up. Lance felt the black tendrils move with Keith, slipping and slicking and holding Lance steady, almost vibrating in a way that made the Cuban lose his mind.  

Lance grunted into his mouth, leaning into the touch. He squirmed slightly, wishing they could move faster, but also enjoying the slow, pleasant caress. He could no longer make sense of all of the sensations coming to play. He wanted to return the favour, damn he really did, but he couldn’t _move._

Keith and Venom together were something else entirely. They were driving Lance insane. And he hadn’t even _done_ anything yet.

They broke apart slowly, Keith’s eyes half lidded as he looked down, delighted that Lance was enjoying himself.

“I love you,” he murmured, pressing the tips of his fingers to the tops of Lance’s thighs, claws digging and drawing circles and lines and nonsensical shapes. His lips made contact with the side of Lance’s neck, and Lance gasped as that long tongue grazed his skin, turning into hot, concentrated kisses on his shoulders.

_Fuck…_ Lance couldn’t breathe, his mind was alight with stars. “Me...me too, oh _god,_ Keeeeith…”

Keith leaned back, thoughts dissipating. Lance looked so lovely, his hair sprawled out, eyes shining and bright, cheeks flushed, mouth kiss bitten red.

“Lance…” Keith said in awe, his breath suddenly turning ragged, following Lance’s own breaths. He moved in closer, leaning his weight on his arm. A lightning shock of pain stung his shoulder. Suddenly, as if breaking out of a trance, he pulled away, a growl escaping his lips. His shoulder twinged from the phantom pain of that god damn bite on his skin. He rolled from Lance’s form and slumped next to him, facing the other way. The word ‘dammit’ sounding like a mantra from his lips.

Lance was confused. “What happened?”

He gripped at his shoulder, rolling it back to try and lessen the pain. “Too much…too soon,”

The sudden weight in Lance’s heart lifted, but not by much. He knew Keith was still hurting, hell they both were. But Zarkon was in jail, the other symbiote was captured. They were free of all this.

 “He’s gone, you know.” He replied into the silence of their panting breaths.

Keith nodded, scooting over to Lance, laying his head on Lance’s chest. He smiled when Lance started running his fingers through his hair. And for that moment, Keith really did believe him.

Zarkon _was_ gone.

Lance was here, Keith was alive. Venom was okay.

Everything was okay. Right?

“You _love_ me?” Lance murmured, the hopeful look in his eyes made Keith smile. He nodded, whispering those words again. “Really?”

He leaned forward and grazed his lips against Lance’s. “Absolutely,”

At his acceptance, Lance gave a cute growl and pressed his lips roughly and sloppily to Keith’s again. His fingers slid through Keith’s hair and his body arched into him. “I love you too, mi amor,”

Keith grinned, wrapping his arms around Lance and snuggling in closer.

They’d get through this, whatever this niggling feeling inside him was. As long as he had Lance and Venom at his side, he could do anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaand...that is practically too open ended.  
> But fear not, I will be back with a sequel my dears.
> 
> Thank you to every single one of you who have lasted this long. All of your comments and kudos, they mean the world to me.
> 
> I love you all my dears!

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think?


End file.
